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1-120

Prologue. Orestes explains his plan of action, and then goes with Pylades to make offerings at Agamemnon's grave (1—85).—Electra's lament (86—120) properly belongs to the

πρόλογος

, since it precedes the entrance of the Chorus (121).

ὧν , since πρόθυμος ἦσθ’ =

ἐπεθύμεις

4-8

Coming from Phocis, the travellers have reached Mycenae by the road from Corinth, and are now standing on the high ground of the Mycenaean citadel, in front of the palace.

The old man, looking southward, points out the chief features of the landscape. (1) The Argive plain, which lies spread out before them to the south and west. (2) The agora and temple of Apollo Lyceios in the city of Argos, distant about six miles to the south. This temple was the most conspicuous object in the town ( Paus. 2. 19. 3 ); and it may be supposed that a person standing at Mycenae could see the building, or part of it. (3) The Heraeum, correctly described as being on the speaker's left hand. Its site was S. E. of Mycenae, at a distance of somewhat less than two miles.

The poet's aim was merely to group these famous places in one view. Neither he nor his Athenian hearers would care whether the topography was minutely accurate. W. G. Clark, in his Peloponnesus (p. 72), illustrates this presumable indifference by a stage direction in Victor Hugo's Marie Tudor:—‘Palais de Richmond: dans le fond à gauche l'Église de Westminster, à droite la Tour de Londres.’ But, in fact, there is only one error of detail. The Heraeum was not visible from Mycenae (v. 8, n.).

Ἄργος in prose usu. means the town only, the territory being

ἡ Ἀργεία

ἡ Ἀργολίς

. But poetry retained the larger sense which Homer had made familiar. Thus in I. T. 508 Orestes says,

τὸ κλεινὸν Ἄργος πατρίδ’ ἐμὴν ἐπεύχομαι

, adding that he comes

ἐκ τῶν Μυκηνῶν

. Cp. Eur. fr. 228. 6 (Danaüs)

ἐλθὼν ἐς Ἄργος ᾤκισ’ Ἰνάχου πόλιν

(came to Argolis, and settled in the town of Argos). Indeed Thuc. can say (6. 105),

Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐς τὸ Ἄργος ἐσέβαλον

παλαιὸν refers not merely to the town, but to the associations of the land. The oldest legends of intercourse between Greece and Asia belonged to the shores of the Argive Gulf (cp. Her. 1. 1 ). Cp. Aristeides Panath. p. 188

Ἀργεῖοι παλαιότατοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀξιοῦσιν εἶναι

τῆς οἰστροπλ … Ἰνάχου κόρης . The Inachus (now the Bonitza) rises in the highlands between Arcadia and Argolis; flows N.E. , and then S.E. , through the Argive plain; and enters the Gulf on the east side of the town. This river-god figured as the earliest king of Argos. Cp. the Inachus of Sophocles, fr. 248

Ἴναχε νᾶτορ, παῖ τοῦ κρηνῶν

πατρὸς

Ὠκεανοῦ, μέγα πρεσβεύων

Ἄργους τε γύαις Ἥρας τε πάγοις

καὶ Τυρσηνοῖσι Πελασγοῖς

His daughter Io, the first priestess of Hera, was loved by Zeus, and changed by the jealous goddess into a cow. The hundred-eyed Argus, charged by Hera to watch her, bound her to an olive-tree in the temenos of the Heraeum ( Apollod. 2. 1. 3 ). Hermes slew Argus; and Hera then sent the gad-fly which drove Io forth from Argolis on her wanderings. Cp. Aesch. P. V. 681

οἰστροπλὴξ δ’ ἐγὼ

μάστιγι θείᾳ γῆν πρὸ γῆς ἐλαύνομαι

. Io, the horned wanderer, was originally, like Hera herself, a moon-goddess.

ἄλσος , the whole region, regarded as ground which her story has made sacred:

ἔλεγον γὰρ πᾶν χωρίον ἀφιερωμένον θεῷ, κἂν ψιλὸν φυτῶν ᾖ, ἄλσος

(schol. Pind. O. 3. 31 ). So Soph. Ant. 845

Θήβας τ’ εὐαρμάτου ἄλσος

(n.): Pind. N. 10. 19

Ἀργεῖον..τέμενος

(‘the sacred Argive land’). In Suppl. 538 ff. the Danaides at Argos say:—‘We have come hither, into the ancient footsteps of our mother (Io), to the flowery meads of the watcher (Argus), where the cow was pastured, and whence, vexed by the gad-fly, she fled in frenzy.’

The ἀγορὰ Λύκειος in Argos lay at the eastern foot of the Larisa, or citadel; as Livy (32. 25) describes it,

subiectum arci forum.

The temple of Apollo

Λύκειος

was probably on the north side of the agora, opposite to a temple of Zeus

Νεμεαῖος

. Before its eastern front stood a monument representing a wolf slaying a bull, in memory of the omen which had given the sovereignty to Danaüs ( Paus. 2. 19. 3 ).

Λύκειος must be ultimately traced to the root

λυκ

, lux, as designating the god of light. But it was popularly connected with

λύκος

. Sophocles here explains it by λυκοκτόνος , an attribute suitable to Apollo as protector of flocks and herds (

νόμιος

, O. T. 1103 n.). The

Λύκειος

is invoked especially as a destroyer of foes ( O. T. 203 n.: Aesch. Theb. 145 ). See Appendix.

Ἥρας … ναός . The site of the Heraeum, discovered by General Gordon in 1831, is about a mile and three quarters S. E. of Mycenae, and about five miles N. E. of Argos. E. Itcan be seen from Argos, but is hidden from Mycenae by a projecting spur of the hills. The temple stood on a rocky eminence under Mount Euboea, one of the heights which bound the Argive plain on the east. The streams

Ἐλευθερίων

and

Ἀρτερίων

flowed on either side of it. Beneath it was a grassy tract known as

Πρόσυμνα

(Statius 3. 325

viridis devexa Prosymnae

); whence the goddess was sometimes styled

Προσυμναία

( Fluv. 18. 3).

This oldest and greatest of Argive shrines is fitly mentioned here; for within its walls Agamemnon was said to have taken the oaths of the chiefs whom he led to Troy (Dictys Cretensis, 1. 15. 6). Here, too, the Spartan Cleomenes received the omen which caused him to retire from Argolis ( c. 496 B.C.: Her. 6. 81 ).

The ancient temple was burnt down in 423 B.C. ( Thuc. 4. 133 ). A new Heraeum was built on a lower terrace of the same hill; and could boast among its treasures a chryselephantine statue of Hera by Polycleitus ( Paus. 2. 17. 4 ). The site of this later Heraeum has recently been excavated by members of the American School at Athens (1892).

φάσκειν (infin. as imperat.),=‘deem,’ ‘believe’: O. T. 462 n. For the expression cp. Milton, Paradise Regained, 4. 44 f.: ‘The city which thou seest no other deem | Than great and glorious Rome.’

Μυκήνας . This plural form (the prevalent one) occurs in Il. 2. 569 , Il. 4. 376 ; but elsewhere metrical convenience led the Homeric poet to prefer the sing.

Μυκήνη

, which allowed him to prefix

εὐρυάγυια

( Il. 4. 52 ), and

πολυχρύσοιο

( Il. 7. 180 , Il. 11. 46 : Od. 3. 305 ).

The site of Mycenae is in a deep recess of the Argive plain, at its northern end,—

μυχῷ Ἄργεος ἱπποβότοιο

( Od. 3. 263 ). Between two peaks of Mount Euboea, a narrow glen runs out towards the plain, terminating in a rocky platform. This acropolis, naturally impregnable on three sides, was surrounded by Cyclopean walls, from 13 to 35 feet high, with an average thickness of 16 feet. Mycenae was to the plain of Argos much what Deceleia was to the plain of Athens,—a stronghold withdrawn from observation, but commanding the country below it.

τὰς πολυχρύσους : the Homeric epithet (see above). It is illustrated by the number of golden cups, cylinders, diadems and other objects found in the graves at Mycenae by Schliemann; who estimated the amount of gold thus discovered at ‘about 100 lbs troy’ ( Mycenae, p. 379).

Thucydides (1. 9) notices the old tradition that Pelops had gained his power by means of the wealth (

πλήθει χρημάτων

) which he had brought from Asia to a poor country. Helbig ( Das hom. Epos aus den Denkm. erläutert, p. 50) thinks it certain that the precious metals became scarcer in the Peloponnesus after the Dorian conquest. When the Spartans, in the first half of the sixth century, required gold for a statue of Apollo, they had to procure it from Sardis ( Her. 1. 69 ).

πολύφθορον , desolated by many deaths; so Tr. 477

ἡ πολύφθορος

| ...

Οἰχαλία

. Atreus and Thyestes slew their brother Chrysippus; Atreus slew his own son Pleisthenes, and then two sons of Thyestes; Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, slew Atreus and Agamemnon.

πατρὸς ἐκ φόνων . For the plur. of

φόνος

, referring to one deed, cp. 779 , O. C. 990 : so

θανάτους

, O. C. 206. In Tr. 558 the MS.

φόνων

is well corrected to

φονῶν

, which denotes a bleeding wound. But here, where the reference is to the act of murder,

φόνων

should be kept.

ἐκ might be ‘after’: but is perhaps better taken as ‘away from’ the scene of slaughter. The boy's life, too, was in peril. Cp. 601 : Pind. P. 11. 17

τὸν δὴ

(Orestes)

φονευομένου πατρὸς Ἀρσινόα Κλυταιμνήστρας

χειρῶν ὑπὸ κρατερᾶν κἀκ δόλου τροφὸς ἄνελε δυσπενθέος

. Eur. El. 16

τὸν μὲν πατρὸς γεραιὸς ἐκκλέπτει τροφεὺς | μέλλοντ’ Ὀρέστην χερὸς ὕπ’ Αἰγίσθου θανεῖν

ὁμαίμου , ‘kinswoman,’ is here defined by κασιγνήτης : though Sophocles never uses

ὅμαιμος

ὁμαίμων

except of the fraternal tie ( O. C. 330 n.). The emphasis is like that of

κοινὸν αὐτάδελφον

( Ant. 1 ), or the Homeric

κασίγνητος καὶ ὄπατρος

( Il. 12. 371 ). Cp. 156 .

ἤνεγκα is taken by the schol. to imply that Orestes was then a child in arms (

οὔ τι βαδίσαι δυναμένου

); but this is to press it overmuch. Orestes was born before his father went to Troy, and so must have been more than ten years old at the time of the murder.

κἀξεθρεψάμην : this aorist occurs also in fr. 355, and

θρεψαίμην

in O. T. 1143. In poetry the midd. of

τρέφω

differs from the act. only as marking the interest felt by the

τροφός

τοσόνδ’ ἐς ἥβης : cp. 961 : O. C. 1138

ἐς τόδ’ ἡμέρας

: for the place of the prep., O. T. 178 n.: for

τοσόνδ’

, Il. 9. 485 (Phoenix to Achilles)

καί σε τοσοῦτον ἔθηκα

. Aegisthus reigned seven years, and was slain in the eighth ( Od. 3. 303 ff.). Orestes, then, is about nineteen or twenty.

The vocative σὺ is no argument for the conjecture βουλεύετον .—Pylades was the son of that Strophius, king of Phocis, in whose house the young Orestes had found a refuge. Thus Pindar speaks of a Pythian victory as won

ἐν ἀφνεαῖς ἀρούραισι Πυλάδα

( P. 11. 15). Euripides notices the legend that Orestes bestowed the hand of Electra upon his friend ( El. 1350 : Paus. 2. 16. 7 ). His name recurs at v. 1373.

ἡμὶν : cp. O. C. 25 n.

ἑῷα . The sights and sounds of early morning are in unison with the spirit of this play, in which the

παννυχίδες

(v. 92) of Electra's sorrow are turned to joy, and the god of light prevails.

κινεῖ … σαφῆ (proleptic): cp. 1366

ταῦτα...δείξουσιν σαφῆ

: Ant. 475 n.

ἄστρων εὐφρόνη =

εὐφρόνη ἀστερόεσσα

, the gen. of material or quality, like

σῶμα...σποδοῦ

(758),

τόλμης πρόσωπον

( O. T. 533 ),

χιόνος πτέρυγι

( Ant. 114 , where see n.).

ἐκλέλοιπεν , intrans. and absol., ‘has failed’: cp. 985 , 1149 .— Not, ‘the dark night has lost its stars,’ as one schol. construes, followed by Ellendt and others. In classical Greek

ἐκλείπω

never takes a gen., as

ἐλλείπω

does. (Plutarch, indeed, has

θεραπείας σώματος ἐξέλειπε

, Marc. 17 : but that may well be acc. plur. rather than gen. sing.) The sense also is against this, since it would imply that night itself had not yet wholly past away.

ἐξοδοιπορεῖν (a compound which occurs only here) has been needlessly suspected.

ὁδοιπορεῖν

in poetry is sometimes no more than

ἔρχεσθαι

χωρεῖν

: e.g., O. C. 1251

ὧδ’ ὁδοιπορεῖ

: Ai. 1230

κἀπ’ ἄκρων ὡδοιπόρεις

.—They must concert their plans while there is yet no risk of their conversation being interrupted.

ξυνάπτετον , intrans., ‘join,’ as Soph. Ph. 702

ὡς ἐς λόγους ξυνῆψα Πολυνείκει

. Here the modal dat. λόγοισιν takes the place of

ἐς λόγους

ὡς ἐνταῦθ’ κ.τ.λ. See Appendix, where the proposed emendations are classified. The main points are, I think, these.

(1) ἐμὲν as=

ἐσμέν

, found only in Callim. fr. 294, is undoubtedly corrupt.

ἴμεν

, the easiest correction, is excluded by its sense. It could not mean, ‘we are moving in a place where...,’ ‘we are thereabouts’ (Campbell). It would mean, ‘we are going to a place where....’ But he speaks of the present.

(2) Is, then, ἐνταῦθ’ spurious? That is the crucial question. If it is spurious, then

ἐμὲν

may be a vestige of a longer 1st pers. plur., such as

ἕσταμεν

: but, if

ἐνταῦθ’

is genuine, all such conjectures are barred. Now, when the usage of Sophocles is scrutinised, two points favour the genuineness of

ἐνταῦθ’

. ( a) It stands as antecedent to

ἵνα

in Ph. 429 : to

ἔνθα

below, Ph. 380 : and to

ὅπου

in Tr. 800. ( b) Sophocles is peculiarly fond of using it in that figurative sense which it would have here, as=‘under these circumstances,’ ‘in that situation’: see, e.g., O. T. 582 , O. T. 598 , O. T. 720 : O. C. 585 : Ph. 429 , Ph. 433 : Tr. 37 , Tr. 772 , Tr. 936.

(3) Supposing that

ἐνταῦθ’

is genuine —as seems most likely—no account of the passage is more probable than that the poet wrote

ὡς ἐνταῦθ’ ἵνα

οὐκ ἔστ’ ἔτ’ ὀκνεῖν καιρός

, and that

ἔστ’

dropped out before

ἔτ’

precisely as in Ph. 23 the words

τόνδ’ ἔτ’, εἴτ’

have shrunk to

τόνδ’ ἤτ’

in L. Then, Ph. v. 22 being defective,

ἵνα

was shifted to it from the end of v. 21 (cp. O. T. 1264 f., cr. n.); and the gap after

ἐνταῦθ’

was filled with

ἐμέν

,—a form which the later grammarians, at least, accepted, as will be seen in the Appendix.

ἔργων ἀκμή : cp. 1338 : Ph. 12

ἀκμὴ γὰρ οὐ μακρῶν ἡμῖν λόγων

: Ai. 811

οὐχ ἕδρας ἀκμή

ὦ φίλτατ’ ἀνδρῶν

κ.τ.λ.

Cp. Shakesp. As You Like It, act 2, sc. 3. 56 (Orlando to Adam): ‘O good old man, how well in thee appears | The constant service of the antique world.’

σημεῖα φαίνεις (=

δῆλος εἶ

)... γεγώς : cp. Lycurg. § 50

φανερὸν πᾶσιν ἐποίησαν οὐκ ἰδίᾳ πολεμοῦντες

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος εὐγενὴς : Vit. Sophist. 2. 23. 4

καὶ εἶδον ἄνδρα παραπλήσιον τῷ Σοφοκλείῳ ἵππῳ, νωθρὸς γὰρ ὑφ’ ἡλικίας δοκῶν νεάζουσαν ὁρμὴν ἐν ταῖς σπουδαῖς ἀνεκτᾶτο

. Equally famous was the

Ἰβύκειος ἵππος

( Plat. Parm. 137 A ); Ibycus fr. 2. 3 (Bergk),

ἦ μὰν τρομέω νιν

(the Love-god)

ἐπερχόμενον

, |

ὥστε φερέζυγος ἵππος ἀεθλοφόρος ποτὶ γήραϊ ἀέκων

σὺν οχεσφι θοοις ἐς ἅμιλλαν ἔβα

ἐν τοῖσι δεινοῖς , in dangers: Thuc. 1. 70

ἐπὶ τοῖς δεινοῖς εὐέλπιδες

; ib. 84

τῶν...ἐξοτρυνόντων ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὰ δεινά,

ἀπώλεσεν , gnomic aor., combined with pres. ἵστησιν : Ai. 674 ff.

δεινῶν τ’ ἄημα πνευμάτων ἐκοίμισε

στένοντα πόντον· ἐν δ’ ὁ παγκρατὴς ὕπνος

λύει πεδήσας

: Il. 17. 177

ὅς τε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἄνδρα φοβεῖ καὶ ἀφείλετο νίκην

: Plat. Rep. 566 D, E

ἀσπάζεται ... ὑπισχνεῖται ... <*>λευθέρωσε ... διένειμε...προσποιεῖται

: Dem. or. 2 § 9

ἐθέλουσιν...ἀνεχαίτισε καὶ διέλυσεν

.—Distinguish those instances in which the ordinary (and not gnomic) aor. is combined with the historic pres., as Ant. 406

ὁρᾶται...ᾑρέθη

(n.).

ὡσαύτως δὲ : here

δὲ

introduces the apodosis; so

οὕτω δέ

, Ant. 426 (n.).

ἐν πρώτοις ἕπει . The image is from the case of leaders in battle, whose men follow them in several ranks; this old man is in the front rank. Cp. Il. 8. 337

Ἕκτωρ δ’ ἐν πρώτοισι κίε

. The military sense of

ἕπομαι

is frequent ( e.g. Il. 11. 795

ἀλλὰ σέ περ προέτω, ἅμα δ’ ἄλλος λαὸς ἑπέσθω

). In prose

ἐν πρώτοις

is sometimes little more than imprimis ( Plat. Rep. 522C ): but this would be tame here.

εἰ μή τι . This adverbial

τι

is frequent in such expressions of diffidence: Ph. 1279

εἰ μἡ τι πρὸς καιρὸν λέγων

κυρῶ

: Tr. 586

εἴ τι μὴ δοκῶ

πράσσειν μάταιον

: ib. 712

εἴ τι μὴ ψευσθήσομαι

γνώμης.

καιροῦ τυγχάνω : cp. Legg. 687 A

πῶς...τοῦ καιροῦ ἂν...ἔτυχον

; Pind. N. 8. 4

καιροῦ μὴ πλαναθέντα.

μεθάρμοσον :

ἐπανόρθωσον

schol.

γὰρ , merely prefatory ( O. T. 277 n.).

ἱκόμην , followed by the historic pres.

χρῇ

: cp. 425 .

μάθοιμ’ : the elision gives quasi-caesura, as in Ant. 44 , Ph. 276 , etc.

ἀροίμην , opt. of 2nd aor.

ἠρόμην

( Ant. 907 , Ai. 247 ). The direct deliberative form is

τίνι τρόπῳ ἄρωμαι

; The indirect, ( a) after a primary tense,

ἱκνοῦμαι ὡς ἂν μάθω ὅτῳ ἄρωμαι

: ( b) after a secondary tense, as above. Cp. O. T. 71 f.

ὡς πύθοιθ’ ὅ τι

δρῶν...ῥυσαίμην πόλιν

(n.). It is also possible to take

ἀροίμην

as opt. of fut.

ἀροῦμαι

: but it may be objected that, in such clauses, the fut. indic. was commonly retained, even after a secondary tense (cp. Goodwin, Moods and Tenses, new ed., §§ 130, 340). —For the sense, ‘win,’ ‘achieve,’ cp. Ai. 193 , O. C. 460.

χρῇ : the pres. of this

χράω

occurs also in Her. (1. 55

χρᾷ

, etc.). In Soph. O. C. 87 we have the impf.

ἐξέχρη

: and the aor. pass. in Soph. O. T. 604 , Soph. O. C. 355. — τοιαῦθ’ (with

οι^

, Soph. Ant. 691 )... ὧν (instead of

οἵων

): cp. Soph. O. C. 1353 n.

ὁ Φοῖβος . Blomfield wished to omit the art., which Sophocles has not elsewhere prefixed to this name; but

ὁ Φοῖβος

occurs ( e.g.) in Ar. Eq. 1024 , 1084 .

πεύσει . The gen. after this verb usu. denotes the informant (as O. T. 333 ): but the thing heard is sometimes put in the gen., instead of the regular acc.: thus Od. 2. 255

ἀγγελιάων

πεύσεται

. So, too, with

ἀκούω

( O. C. 485 , etc.), and

κλύω

( ib. 1174 ).

This verse might seem the preface to some longer recital (cp. Ph. 1418 n.). But in fact it is merely an emphatic prelude to the oracle: τάχα marks a momentary pause.

αὐτὸν , alone; cp. O. T. 221 , O. C. 1650. —

ἄσκευον

... ἀσπίδων κ.τ.λ., ‘unfurnished with’ them: for the gen., cp. 1002 : O. T. 191

ἄχαλκος ἀσπίδων

: O. C. 677

ἀνήνεμον...χειμώνων

(n.). The adj. occurs also in O. C. 1029

οὐ ψιλὸν οὐδ’ ἄσκευον

, ‘not without accomplice or resource.’

ἀσπίδων τε καὶ στρατοῦ =

ὡπλισμένου στρατοῦ

, a rhetorical hendiadys, like ‘without arms or numbers.’— δόλοισι , in requital of the

δόλος

on the side of the murderers (v. 197).

χειρὸς goes with σφαγάς (476

δίκαια χειροῖν κράτη

): the vengeance is to be won by his own right hand, not by means of allies.

κλέψαι , to effect by stealth: Ai. 1137

κλέψειας κακά

ὅτε causal,=

ἐπειδή

: cp. 1318 : O. T. 918 (n.): Ant. 170.

σὺ μὲν μολὼν κ.τ.λ.: for the absence of caesura, cp. Ph. 101 , Ph. 1369 , Ant. 1021.

καιρὸς is almost personified here: cp. 75 : Ph. 466

καιρὸς γὰρ καλεῖ

: ib. 837

καιρὸς...πάντων γνώμαν ἴσχων

(n.).

ἴσθι , in the pregnant sense of ‘take care to know,’ ‘acquaint thyself with.’ Similarly in O. C. 1149

εἴσει

μαθήσει

γήρᾳ refers to the change in his appearance; χρόνῳ μακρῷ , to the lapse of seven years (v. 14), which may have caused him to be forgotten.

οὐδ’ ὑποπτεύσουσιν follows οὐ μὴ γνῶσι , as in O. C. 450 ff.

οὐδ’ ἥξει

follows

οὐ μὴ λάχωσι

. The latter example is so far less harsh that the verbs have different subjects; but it shows how these two forms of future statements could be strictly co-ordinated. No correction is probable. (

ὑποπτεύσωσιν

would require, of course,

μηδ’

ὧδ’ ἠνθισμένον , with grey hair: O. T. 742

λευκανθὲς κάρα

: Erinna fr. 2

παυρολόγοι πολιαί, ταὶ γήραος ἄνθεα θνατοῖς

. The schol., objecting that such a change would not suffice to disguise him, takes the word as=

ἠσκημένον

(an impossible sense for it). Another view strangely refers it to ‘a Phocian dress spangled with flowers’ (Paley).

Φωκεύς should not be changed to

Φωκέως

: it was desirable that the messenger himself should seem an alien. Similarly Orestes and Pylades come as

Φωκῆς ἄνδρες

(1107).

ἀνδρὸς Φανοτέως. ἀνήρ

, thus prefixed to a proper name, serves either: ( a) to introduce a person not previously men tioned,—being more respectful than

τις

, as Il. 11. 92

ἄνδρα Βιήνορα

, Her. 8. 82

ἀνὴρ Παναίτιος

: or ( b) adds something of solemnity or pathos to the mention of a familiar name, as Soph. O. C. 109

ἀνδρὸς Οἰδίπου

, Soph. Ai. 817

ἀνδρὸς Ἕκτορος

Phanoteus was the eponymous hero of the town Phanoteus ( Thuc. 4. 89 ), or Panopeus ( Il. 2. 520 etc., Paus. , Strabo), in Phocis, close to the Boeotian frontier, —about three miles west of Chaeroneia, and as many east of Daulis. He was the brother of Crisus, from whom the town of Crisa in Phocis (about two miles w. s. w. of Delphi) took its name. Between these brothers, said the legend, there was a deadly feud; before birth they had struggled in the womb (Tzetzes, Lycophr. 939: cp. Preller, Griechische Mythologie, 2. p. 54 n. 5). Now Crisus was the father of Strophius, that king of Crisa who was the ally of Agamemnon, and with whom the young Orestes found a home. Hence Phanoteus, the foe of Crisus, is represented as the friend of Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra. He is the first to send them the glad tidings that Orestes is dead. On the other hand it is Strophius who is described as paying the last honours to the corpse, and sending the ashes to Mycenae (1111).

ὁ γὰρ : other instances of the art., as demonstr. pron., immediately followed by

γάρ

(and not by

μέν

δέ

) are, O. T. 1082 (

τῆς

), O. T. 1102 (

τῷ

), Ph. 154 (

τό

). The art.

ὁ, ἡ

, when it stands as demonstr. pron., is sometimes written

ὅ, ἥ

: a practice which is recognised by Eustathius (p. 23. 3, on Il. 1. 9 ), but which seems to rest on no good ground.

μέγιστος , as in

φίλος μέγιστος

( Ph. 586 , Ai. 1331 ) simply, ‘greatest’ friend; not, ‘most powerful.’

τυγχάνει , without

ὤν

: cp. 313 , 1457 : Ai. 9

ἔνδον... τυγχάνει

. Ast collects some ten examples from Plato; a few are subject to the doubt whether

ὄν

ὤν

has not dropped out after a like termination; but that does not apply to ( e.g.) Hipp. Ma. 300 A

ἡ δἰ ἀκοῆς ἡδονὴ...τυγχάνει καλή

, or Tim. 61 D

τυγχάνει...δυνατὰ ἱκανῶς λεχθῆναι

δορυξένων : a word applied by the tragedians to a prince or chief who is in armed alliance with the head of another state: see on O. C. 632.

ὅρκον , Reiske's correction of ὅρκῳ , seems right. With

ὅρκῳ

, the choice is between two explanations. (1)

ἄγγελλε ὅρκῳ, προστιθεὶς

(

ὅρκον

). This is exceedingly awkward, and is not really similar to Ar. Av. 1004

ὀρθῷ μετρήσω κανόνι προστιθείς

(

κανόνα

): for

μετρήσω

is most naturally followed by the dative of the instrument; while

ἀγγέλλειν ὅρκῳ

would be a strange phrase. (2)

ἄγγελλε ὅρκῳ προστιθεὶς

(

τὰ ἀγγελλόμενα

): explained as an ‘inversion’ of

προστιθεὶς ὅρκον τοῖς ἀγγελλομένοις

. But it is hard to see how ‘adding the report to an oath’ could stand for ‘adding an oath to the report.’

On the other hand, the phrase

προστιθέναι ὅρκον

has the authority of Sophocles himself: fr. 431

ὅρκου δὲ προστεθέντος ἐπιμελεστέρα

ψυχὴ κατέστη

. Cp. too Tr. 255

ὅρκον αὑτῷ προσβαλών

The false oath would be regarded as excused by the

δόλοι

which Apollo had prescribed (v. 37); but in fact the Paedagogus takes no such oath.

ἀναγκαίας τύχης , an accident ordained by

ἀναγκη

, fate ( O. C. 605 ). The phrase recurs, with a somewhat different context, in Ai. 485 , Ai. 803.

ἄθλοισι (from

ἆθλος

) Πυθικοῖσιν . Here and at v. 682 the schol. notes the anachronism,—to which Attic Tragedy was wholly indifferent. From very early times there was an

ἀγών

at Delphi, but for music and poetry only. Athletic contests were first added when, on the conquest of Crisa by the Delphic Amphictyony, the festival was revived with a new splendour. The year Ol. 48. 3, 586 B.C. was that from which the Pythiads were dated ( Paus. 10. 7. 3 ). Cp. Curtius, Hist. Gr. 1. p. 266.

τροχηλάτων implies ‘rapid,’ ‘whirling’: cp. I. T. 82

τροχηλάτου | μανίας.

ἑστάτω : be so ‘constituted’: i.e., the whole story is to rest upon this basis. Cp. Plat. Theaet. 171 D

ταύτῃ ἂν μάλιστα ἵστασθαι τὸν λόγον

ἐφίετο ( sc.

ὁ Φοῖβος

, v. 35), like impf.

ἐκέλευε.

λοιβαῖσι , a general word, which could mean either the

χοαί

poured to the

νέρτεροι

, or the

σπονδαί

to the

ὕπατοι

. In this case, milk (perhaps mixed with honey) was poured on the mound (894).

καρατόμοις χλιδαῖς , ‘ornaments’ (luxuriant locks) ‘cut from the head.’ (This adj. elsewhere=‘beheaded.’) Cp. Soph. Ph. 223

ἐπιμένει με κόμας ἐμᾶς

δεῦσαι παρθένιον χλιδάν

. The phrase is of the same type as

κτύπος διόβολος

( Soph. O. C. 1464 ) or

αὔχημα εὔιππον

( ib. 711). Cp. Aesch. Ch. 7 , where Orestes brings a

πλόκαμος πενθητήριος

to his father's grave.

στέψαντες : cp. 441 : Ant. 431

χοαῖσι τρισπόνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει

. Besides the offerings named here, flowers are mentioned below (896).

ἄψορρον … πάλιν : O. T. 430

οὐ πάλιν

ἄψορρος ὄκων τῶνδ’ ἀποστραφεὶς ἄπει

;

τύπωμα , anything formed or moulded; Soph. Ph. 162

μορφῆς τύπωμα

, ‘the outline of his form.’ The vague word is here defined by χαλκόπλευρον : which may be a reminiscence of the phrase used by Aesch. ( Aesch. Ch. 686 ) in the same context,

λέβητος χαλκέου πλευρώματα

. The cinerary urn is described below as

βραχὺς χαλκὸς

(757),

τεῦχος

(1114),

ἄγγος

(1118),

λέβης

(1401). Cp. fr. 348

χαλκηλάτους λέβητας

ἠρμένοι , pass.,=

ἠρμένον ἔχοντες

(schol.). Cp. Aeschin. or. 3 § 164

ἐπιστολὰς ἃς ἐξηρτημένος ἐκ τῶν δακτύλων περιῄεις

(as Hor. Sat. 1. 6. 74

suspensi loculos

): Xen. Anab. 7. 4. 16

ἐσπασμένοι τὰ ξίφη

: id. Cyr. 6. 3. 24

προβεβλημένοι...τοὺς θωρακοφόρους

: Plut. Phoc. 10

πώγωνα...καθειμένος

. See also Soph. Tr. 157 n.

Others take

ἠρμένοι

as middle. This use of

ἦρμαι

is not unknown to later Greek; e.g. Strabo 3. p. 150 has

νίκην ἠρμένοι

ἀράμενοι

. But there is no example of it in the classical period.

Join που with καὶ σὺ (‘thou, too, doubtless knowest’): cp. 948

παρουσίαν μὲν οἶσθα καὶ σύ που φίλων, κ.τ.λ.

Since he has a definite spot in mind,

που

would less fitly be taken with

θάμνοις

, as=‘somewhere.’

The v.l. μοι is inferior. As an enclitic, it could not go with the following partic. (‘hidden by me’). It could only be a kind of ethic dat. with

οἶσθα

(as nearly=

σύνοισθά μοι

λόγῳ κλέπτοντες : cp. I. Il. 131

μὴ

... |

κλέπτε νόῳ

: Soph. Ph. 992

κλέψας λόγοισιν ὥσθ’ ἃ βούλομαι τυχεῖν

φέρωμεν is clearly right: it depends on

ἥξομεν κ.τ.λ.

(53), and continues the exposition of the plan which he is about to execute.

φέροιμεν

could depend only upon

κεκρυμμένον

(‘which was hidden in order that we might bring,’ etc.). Similarly in O. C. 11

πυθώμεθα

has been corrupted in the MSS. to

πυθοίμεθα

ἔρρει =

ἀπόλωλε

: cp. 925 : O. T. 560

ἄφαντος ἔρρει

(Laïus).

δέμας , of a corpse, as 756, 1161: in Homer, always of the living ( Ant. 205 n.).

τί γάρ με λυπεῖ

κ.τ.λ.

: i.e., ‘It is true that it is ill-omened for the living to be described as dead; but why, in this case, need I care for the omen?’ Cp. Helen. 1050 (Helen to Menelaüs):

βούλει λέγεσθαι μὴ θανὼν τεθνηκέναι

; He replies:—

κακὸς μὲν ὄρνις· εἰ δὲ κερδανῶ λέγων

, |

ἕτοιμός εἰμι μὴ θανὼν λόγῳ θανεῖν.

ἔργοισι : the plur., as in O. C. 782 (n.).

κἀξενέγκωμαι , ‘carry off’ from the enterprise: Tr. 497

μέγα τι σθένος ἁ Κύπρις ἐκφέρεται νίκας ἀεί

δοκῶ μέν : cp. 547 : O. C. 995 n.— σὺν κέρδει (

ὄν

), when fraught with gain: cp. 899

ὡς δ’ ἐν γαλήνῃ

( sc.

ὄντα

)

πάντ’ ἐδερκόμην τόπον

. For

σύν

, cp. 430

σὺν κακῷ.

κακόν , ‘ill-omened’; O. C. 1433 , Ant. 1001.

πολλάκις . There were many such popular stories. Pythagoras was said to have hidden himself in a subterranean chamber, causing his death to be reported; and when he reappeared, he was supposed to have been born anew (schol.). Herodotus tells a similar story of the Thracian Salmoxis, a slave and disciple of Pythagoras, who thus converted the Thracians to a doctrine of immortality (4. 95). So, too, the poet Aristeas of Proconnesus disappeared for seven years,—as a sort of preliminary advertisement, it would seem, to his poem the Arimaspeia ( Her. 4. 14 ). It is vain to ask what particular story or stories Sophocles was thinking of; very possibly he knew those in Herodotus (cp. Soph. O. C. 337 n.); but it was enough for him that his hearers would recognise the allusion to stories of that type. Hartung thinks that the reference is to Odysseus; but, as Odysseus did not contrive the rumour of his own death, the case is not in point.

λόγῳ μάτην θνῄσκοντας : for

μάτην

as =‘falsely,’ cp. 1298 , Ph. 345.

ἐκτετίμηνται . The emphatic perf. might denote either (1) permanence,— ‘they are in greater honour thenceforth’; or (2) the instantaneous result,—‘ forthwith.’ Perhaps the usage of the perf. pass. of

τιμάω

rather favours (1). Cp. O. C. 1304

τετίμηνται δορί

(with Thuc. 2. 45 , cited there): Hom. Od. 7. 69 (of Arêtè)

τετίμηται

.— The finite verb, instead of

ἐκτετιμημένους

, by a frequent idiom; cp. 192 (

ἀμφίσταμαι

): O. C. 351 n.—

ἐκτιμάω

is rare in classical Greek. Arist. Oec. 2. 33 (p. 1352 b 5) has

ἐκτετιμημένα

as=‘things on which a high price is set,’ opp. to

εὔωνα

, ‘cheap.’

ὡς , ‘as,’ seems better here than

ὣς

, ‘thus.’ It gives a smoother transition; and it is also more in accord with usage. Except in the phrases

οὐδ’ ὥς

( Ant. 1042 ),

καὶ ὥς

, etc., Attic writers seldom use

ὥς

, ‘thus.’ Among the rare instances are Aesch. Ag. 930

εἰ πάντα δ’ ὣς πράσσοιμεν

: Plat. Prot. 326D

ὥσπερ οἱ γραμματισταὶ..., ὣς δὲ καὶ ἡ πόλις

: ib. p. 338 A

ὣς

( v.l.

ὡς

)

οὖν ποιήσετε

: Thuc. 3. 37

ὣς οὖν χρὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς ποιοῦντας

κἄμ’ ἐπαυχῶ : for the accus. (though the pron. refers to the subject of the verb), cp. 470 f., Tr. 706 n.

ἄπο , not merely ‘after’ it, but as a result of it; cp. Ant. 695 , Ph. 408.

δεδορκότ’ ,=

βλέποντα

, living: Aesch. Eum. 322

ἀλαοῖσι καὶ δεδορκόσιν.

ἐχθροῖς is best taken with λάμψειν : ‘alive, I shall shine as a star upon them,’ i.e. to their terror.

ἄστρον : not specifically ‘a baleful star,’—as when Achilles ( Il. 22. 26 ff.) and Hector ( ib. 11. 62) are likened to Seirius. It is simply an image of splendour; but to his foes, of course, he will prove an

οὔλιος ἀστήρ

.—Whitelaw: ‘So living, doubt not, from this falsehood's cloud | I on my dazzled foes, starlike, shall break.’

ἔτι , menacing: cp. 471 : Tr. 257.

πατρῴα γῆ

κ.τ.λ.

: cp. Ph. 1040

ἀλλ’, ὦ πατρῴα γῆ θεοί τ’ ἐπόψιοι.

εὐτυχοῦντα , proleptic: cp. 162 f.: O. C. 487

δέχεσθαι τὸν ἱκέτην σωτήριον.

ὁδοῖς , of a single journey: O.C. 553 (n.), Ant. 226.

καθαρτής : so in Aesch. Ch. 968 ff. the avenger is to drive the

μύσος

from the hearth,

καθαρμοῖσιν ἀτᾶν ἐλατηρίοις.

πρὸς θεῶν ὡρμημένος : Aesch. Ch. 940 (of Orestes)

ὁ πυθόχρηστος φυγὰς

θεόθεν εὖ φραδαῖσιν ὡρμημένος

ἀλλ’ ἀρχέπλουτον , sc.

πέμψατε

or the like, to be supplied from

ἀποστείλητε

, as

αὐδῶ

in O. T. 241 from

ἀπαυδῶ, δεῖ

in O. C. 1404 from

οὐκ ἔξεστι, ἕκαστος

in Ant. 263 from

οὐδείς

ἀρχέπλουτον , ‘ master of my possessions’; cp.

ἀρχέλαος, ἀρχέπολις

( Pind. P. 9. 58 ). Others understand, ‘having ancient wealth,’=

ἀρχαιόπλουτον

. If, however, the verbal part of the compound denoted ‘beginning’ rather than ‘ruling,’ analogy would suggest that

ἀρχέπλουτος

should mean, ‘a founder of wealth’; cp.

ἀρχέκακος

( Il. 5. 63 ),

ἀρχέχορος

(

ποῦς

, Eur. Tro. 151 ),

ἀρχέγονος

, etc. In Pindar P. 4. 110, where Jason speaks of his

ἀρχεδικᾶν τοκέων

, the sense is strictly, ‘ancestors who founded the right’ to possession,—Cretheus, father of Aeson, having been the founder of Iolcus; not merely, ‘who held an ancient right.’—As to the form of the word, see Appendix.

καταστάτην , as restoring its fortunes,

ἀποκαθιστάντα

εἴρηκα μέν νυν ταῦτα , one of those formulas which serve to close a speech, like

πάντ’ ἐπίστασαι

, Ant. 402 f. The old edd. write

μὲν νῦν

, which would mean that he reserved further details for another time.

μελέσθω is probably impers. (as

μέλεται

in Theocr. 1. 53); though

μέλεταί τί μοι

is a less rare constr. for this midd. form ( cp. 1436 ).

ἐπιστάτης , as controlling and regulating action; cp. 39 n.

ἰώ μοί μοι δύστηνος . Dindorf deletes

δύστηνος

, because

ἰώ μοι μοί

is a frequent prelude to the entrance of an actor who laments ( e.g. Ai. 333 , Ai. 893 , Ai. 974 ). But why should we assume that this formula was invariable? An adj. is often added to such interjections; Ant. 850

ἰὼ δύστανος

: O. C. 876

ἰὼ τάλας

: O. T. 1307

αἰαῖ, φεῦ φεῦ, δύστανος

καὶ μὴν , announcing a new comer: 1422: O. C. 549 n.

θυρῶν is perhaps best taken as denoting the quarter whence the sound strikes the ear, so that it goes with

αἰσθέσθαι

(‘hear from the doors’). The order of the words, and the rhythm, favour this. It might, however, be a local gen., ‘ at the doors,’ going with

ὑποστενούσης

: cp. 900 n.

I should agree with the schol. in governing

θυρῶν

by ἔνδον , did not the wide separation of the words make this so awkward. When Sophocles places a genitive long before the preposition which governs it, the genitive is usu. causal; and, as this sense is readily perceived, the delay of the prep. then matters less. See, e.g., 578 f.

τούτου...οὕνεκ’

: O. T. 857 f.

μαντείας...οὕνεκ’

: Ph. 598 f.

τίνος ...χάριν

προσπόλων τινὸς : the old man conjectures that it is a slave, because a daughter of the house was not to be expected at the gates, especially at such an early hour: cp. 518 n. But Orestes fancies that he recognises the voice.

θέλεις | μείνωμεν … ; Cp. O. T. 651

θέλεις...εἰκάθω;

Ph. 761

βούλει λάβωμαι;

The reading of the MSS., κἀνακούσωμεν , was taken by some from

ἀνακούω

, and explained as ‘listen further’ (schol. in E). But no

ἀνακούω

is extant; nor does it seem probable. If the traditional reading is sound, it must be referred to

ἐνακούω

. The only authority for that word, in Greek of the classical age, is Hippocrates, who uses it with two peculiar meanings:—(1) ‘to be sensitive,’ to sound, as De Corde, Kühn vol. I. p. 488

ταῦτα γὰρ οὐκ ἐνακούουσιν ἰαχῆς

, or, generally, to any impression, as De Humid., K. I. p. 157

ἐνακούειν πολλῶν

. (2) ‘To be obedient, amenable,’ to curative treatment; as De artic., K. III. p. 229

ἐνακούει τὰ τοιαῦτα τῆς ἰητρείης

On the other hand Sophocles has

ἐπακούω

, ‘to listen,’ in O. T. 708 , O. T. 794 : O. C. 694 : Ph. 1417. Nauck's correction, κἀπακούσωμεν , is thus highly plausible. Among recent editors who receive it are Wecklein, Bellermann, and Michaelis A. (in his revision of Jahn's ed.).

μηδὲν πρόσθεν , sc.

ποιῶμεν

: cp. Ant. 497 n.

τὰ Λοξίου , his commands, v. 51.

ἀρχηγετεῖν (a verb which occurs only here), not merely=

ἄρχεσθαι

, but rather ‘to make an auspicious beginning’ (Lat. auspicari), as

ἀρχηγέτης

denoted the god or hero to whom a city or family traced its origin ( O.C. 60 n.). This title was given especially to Apollo:

Φοῖβος γὰρ ἀεὶ πολίεσσι φιληδεῖ | κτιζομένῃς

(Callim. Hym. Apoll. 54) . The Chalcidians of Euboea, when they founded Naxos in Sicily, placed an altar of Apollo

Ἀρχηγέτης

before the city ( Thuc. 6. 3 : cp. Appian Bell. Civ. 5. 109). Pindar speaks of

ὁ...ἀρχαγέτας

:..

Ἀπόλλων

in connection with the founding of Cyrene by Battus.

πατρὸς , possessive gen., as the offerings are due to him: cp. Eur. Alc. 613

νερτέρων ἀγάλματα.

λουτρά , the

λοιβαί

of v. 52, the

πηγαὶ γάλακτος

of 895, regarded as offerings demanded by purity. So in v. 434

λουτρά

are the

χοαί

of v. 406. Hesychius records the phrase

χθόνια λουτρά

in this sense. [But in Soph. Ph. 1667

νεκρῷ λουτρὰ περιβαλεῖν

refers to washing the corpse.]

φέρει … ἐφ’ ἡμῖν , i.e. brings (so as to place it) in our power; for this

ἐπί

, cp. O. C. 66 , Ph. 1003. Not, ‘brings in our case’ (like

ἐπ’ ἀνδρὶ τῷδ’

, O. T. 829 n.); nor, ‘brings upon us’ ( O. C. 1472 ).

νίκην , the ultimate victory: κράτος τῶν δρωμένων , the upper hand, the mastery, in our course of action. For the combination, cp. Plat. Legg. 962 A

νίκην καὶ κράτος πολεμίων

: Dem. or. 19 § 130

κράτος καὶ νίκην πολέμου

(reversed by Plut. Mor.p. 412 C

νίκην καὶ κράτος τοῦ πολέμου

). For the pres. part., cp. 1333

τὰ δρώμεν’

, ‘your plans’; Tr. 588. So O. C. 116

τῶν ποιουμένων

All three actors now leave the scene. Orestes and Pylades go to Agamemnon's grave,—departing, probably, by the entrance on the spectators' right. The Paedagogus leaves by the entrance on the left,—to await the moment for seeking admission to the house (v. 660).—It might, indeed, be inferred from

πειρώμεθ’

(83) that the old man goes with the youths to their task; but the word need not imply more than his participation in the plan. while verses 73—75 seem clearly to indicate that he separates from his companions. When they have gone, Electra enters from the house.

86-120

θρῆνος ἀπὸ σκηνῆς

, or lyric lament delivered by an actor alone. as dist. from the joint

κομμός

of actor and Chorus (121 n.).

Verses 86—102 form a

σύστημα

,=vv. 103—120 (

ἀντισύστημα

). If the text is sound, the correspondence is not exact, since the dimeter in v. 99 answers to a monometer in v. 116. These anapaests are, however, of the type usually known as ‘free’ or ‘melic,’ as having more of a lyric character than the regular anapaests of the marching-songs (like those of the Parodos in the Ajax): see W. Christ, Metrik, 2nd ed., § 288. And in such anapaests the symmetry of ‘systems’ is often not strict (cp. O. C. 117 n.).

ὦ φάος ἁγνὸν : the Sun-god abhors impurity ( O. T. 1425 ff.). So too the

αἰθήρ

ἁγνός

( Aesch. P. V. 281 ). —These opening words beautifully express the sense of relief with which she passes from her sad vigil in the polluted house to the clear sunlight and free air of morning.—Similar utterances of sorrow to the elements are those in Aesch. P. V. 88 ff., Eur. Andr. 91 ff.

γῆς ἰσόμοιρ’ ἀήρ , ‘air coextensive with earth,’—having a

μοῖρα

, a domain in space, equal to that of earth. Cp. Hamlet's phrase, ‘this goodly frame, the earth...this most excellent canopy, the air’ (2. 2. 311) . Hes. Th. 126

Γαῖα δέ τοι πρῶτον μὲν ἐγείνατο ἶσον ἑαυτῇ | Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόενθ’, ἵνα μιν περὶ πάντα καλύπτοι

. A genitive after

ἰσόμοιρος

usu. denotes that in which persons share alike (as Isae. or. 6 § 25

ἰσομοίρους...τῶν πατρῴων

). Here it denotes the partner. Cp. De Mund. 6. 18 (p. 399 a 8)

ἥλιος...καὶ οἱ τούτου

[not

τούτῳ

]

ἰσόδρομοι, ὅ τε Φωσφόρος καὶ ὁ Ἑρμῆς

. So adjectives of similarity or equivalence can take a gen. (as

προσφερής

Eur. H. F. 131 ,

ἀντίπαλος

Pind. O. 8. 71 ). Such genitives are analogous to those which follow words expressing community or participation, as

κοινός, συγγενής

, etc.—Others, taking

ἀήρ

as that which is intermediate between

γῆ

and

αἰθήρ

, explain, ‘air, which has the same share in earth (as it has in

αἰθήρ

),’ —comparing Ar. Av. 187

ἐν μέσῳ δήπουθεν ἀήρ ἐστι γῆς

(where

καὶ οὐρανοῦ

is to be supplied). This is very forced.

ἰσόμοιῤ is a necessary correction of ἰσόμοιρος (cr. n.), which would require

α^

ἀήρ

,—a quantity found only in pseudoPhocylides 108, and an epigram quoted by Eustathius p. 17. 46.

πολλὰς μὲν … ᾔσθου . Each of these two verses is an anapaestic dimeter lacking one long syllable (‘catalectic’), i.e., a ‘paroemiac.’ Two successive paroemiacs were admissible only in anapaests of this ‘free’ or lyric character (n. on 86—120). These paroemiacs are purely spondaic; as ‘free’ anapaests also admitted the converse license, of resolving the long syllables, except the last, of the paroemiac ( I. T. 130

πόδα παρθένιον ὅσιον ὁσίας

). Synesius, the bishop of Ptolemais, composed his fifth hymn wholly in these spondaic paroemiacs, a weighty and solemn measure;

Ὑμνώμεν κοῦρον κούρας

, |

νύμφας οὐ νυμφευθείσας, κ.τ.λ.

See W. Christ, Metrik § 293 (2nd ed.).

ἀντήρεις , lit. ‘set opposite’ (hence of an ‘adversary,’ Soph. Ph. 754 ), here, ‘dealt from opposite,’ striking full on the breast, like

ἀνταία...πλαγά

(195 f.).

θρῆνος

and

κοπετός

are similarly combined in Soph. Ai. 631 ff.

θρηνήσει, χερόπλακτοι δ’

ἐν στέρνοισι πεσοῦνται

δοῦποι

πληγὰς must be preferred to πλαγὰς here, unless we are to write

γᾶς

(in 87), etc. As a rule, certainly, Doricism is a mark of lyric (as dist. from marching) anapaests; see Ant., append. p. 248, and cp. W. Christ, Metrik § 288. But the fact that these anapaests, though lyric in general character, precede the first lyrics of the Chorus, may have led the poet to prefer Attic forms, as in the anapaestic Parodos of the Ajax (134 ff., where

πληγὴ

occurs in 137).

ὑπολειφθῇ , lit., ‘falls behind’; here =‘fails,’ like the intr.

ἐκλέλοιπεν

in 19. We need not conjecture

ὑπολείπῃ

, though the intrans. use is frequent with Aristotle. The subjunct. can follow ᾔσθου , since the thought is, ‘hast heard’ (and still hearest). For the converse (an optat. after a primary tense which implies a secondary), cp. O. C. 11 n.

τὰ … παννυχίδων is best taken as acc. governed by ξυνίσας’ , rather than as a prefatory acc. of reference (‘as to...’): ὅσα … θρηνῶ (94) is epexegetic of it.

τὰ παννυχίδων

, a periphrasis like

τὰ τῶν πολέμων

( Thuc. 2. 11 ),

τὰ τῆς τύχης

( Soph. Ph. 1202 ), etc. The

παννυχὶς

(

ἑορτή

) was properly a joyous torch-light festival, as at the Lenaea ( Ar. Ran. 371 ), or the Bendideia ( Plat. Rep. 328A ). The irony is like that of

κείνου χρηστήρια τἀνδρός

( Soph. Ai. 220 ),

παιὰν Ἐρινύων

( Aesch. Ag. 645 ).

ἤδη (which has been needlessly suspected) means merely, ‘ere now,’ implying the long duration of her grief.

The MS. οἴκων is better than the proposed λέκτρων , since ( a) μογερῶν suggests, not merely her own sorrow, but the troubles of the house; and ( b) the antithesis is between her laments without and within the palace.

ὅσα τὸν δύστηνον : the only anapaestic dimeter in this

θρῆνος

which has not the caesura after the second foot.

κατὰ μὲν βάρβαρον αἶαν , i.e. at Troy. The whole form of this passage (95—99) seems clearly to show a reminiscence of Od. 11. 406 —411, where the shade of Agamemnon says to Odysseus,—

οὔτ’ ἐμέ γ’ ἐν νήεσσι Ποσειδάων ἐδάμασσεν

,... |

οὔτε μ’ ἀνάρσιοι ἄνδρες ἐδηλήσαντ’ ἐπὶ χέρσου

, |

ἀλλά μοι Αἴγισθος τεύξας θάνατόν τε μόρον τε

ἔκτα σὺν οὐλομένῃ ἀλόχῳ, οἶκόνδε καλέσσας

, |

δειπνίσσας, ὤς τίς τε κατέκτανε βοῦν ἐπὶ φάτνῃ

. Sophocles follows the Homeric version in conceiving Agamemnon as slain at a banquet (194, Od. 203 ); and ἐξένισεν in v. 96 suggests a contrast with the entertainment which had been prepared for him at home.—Cp. also Aesch. Eum. 625 ff.

Ἄρης with

α—

(after Homeric precedent, Il. 5. 31 etc.), as in Ant. 139 , Ai. 254 , Ai. 614.

ἐξένισεν . The

ξένια

with which Ares welcomes his guests are wounds and death. Archilochus fr. 7

ξείνια δυσμενέσιν λυγρὰ χαριζόμενοι

. Helen. 480

θάνατος ξένιά σοι γενήσεται

. Anthol. 6. 9 (arrows)

ὀλοὰ ξείνια δυσμενέων

κοινολεχὴς , ‘paramour,’ as in Aesch. Ag. 1441 Cassandra is

ἡ κοινόλεκτρος τοῦδε θεσφατηλόγος

ὅπως δρῦν ὑλοτόμοι , i.e., with as little pity. But in Il. 13. 389 ff.,

ἤριπε δ’, ὡς ὅτε τις δρῦς ἤριπεν

, the point is the crash with which the stately tree falls.

σχίζουσι , historic pres., following an aor. ( Tr. 267 , Tr. 702 ); as it often also precedes it ( Ant. 269 , Ant. 406 , Ant. 419 ). I. Xen. Anab. 5. 12

ξύλα σχίζων τις.

κάρα , after

ὃν

(95), acc. defining the part: Ph. 1301

μέθες με...χεῖρα

(n.).

πέλεκει : cp. Il. 23. 114

ὑλοτόμους πελέκεας ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες

. It was a two-edged axe (

ἀμφάκης,

485 ), a

πέλεκυς ἀμφίστομος

δίστομος

, bipennis, as dist. from the singleheaded axe,

πέλεκυς ἑτερόστομος

(Pollux 1. 137).

ἄλλης , as in 885, instead of the more general

ἄλλου.

φέρεται must be more than merely ‘ proceeds from’: it implies a passionate utterance. Cp. Pind. P. 1. 87 ,

εἴ τι καὶ φλαῦρον παραιθύσσει, μέγα τοι φέρεται

πὰρ σέθεν

, where Gildersleeve well remarks that the image is that of sparks flying from an anvil (

ἄκμονι

v. 86), and renders

φέρεται

‘rushes.’ Here the alternative version would be, ‘is brought as a tribute,’ but that is too weak.

The deletion of the words ἀπ’ ἄλλης | ἢ )μοῦ (cr. n.) aims at making the anapaestic

σύστημα

(86—102) precisely equal in length to the

ἀντισύστημα

(103—120). But such precision cannot be demanded (see n. on 86—120). On the other hand, the proposed omission would rob these verses of their peculiar pathos, and would also leave

φέρεται

obscure.

ἀλλ’ οὐ μὲν δὴ : the combination

ἀλλὰ...μὲν δὴ

occurs also in O. T. 523 , Tr. 627.

ἄστρων |

ῥιπάς. ῥιπή

(

ῥίπτω

), ‘swing,’ ‘vibration,’ is here applied to the quivering rays of starlight; as in Ant. 137 , Ant. 930 to the gusts of fierce winds. (In O. C. 1248 ,

ἐννυχιᾶν ἀπὸ Ῥιπᾶν

, the ref. is to the mountains called

Ῥῖπαι

: see n.) —Instead of

λεύσσω μὲν...λεύσσω δὲ

, we have the verb in the second clause only: cp. Ant. 1105

μόλις μέν, καρδίας δ’ ἐξίσταμαι

. For the omission of

μέν

in the first of two such clauses, see on Ant. 806 f.

Others read,

ἔστ’ ἂν λεύσσω παμφεγγεῖς

ῥιπάς, λεύσσω δὲ τόδ’ ἦμαρ

, omitting

ἄστρων

. But

παμφεγγεῖς ῥιπάς

, without

ἄστρων

, would not suffice to denote starlight. If, again, the phrase is taken to denote the sun's rays (as Monk proposes, Mus. Crit. I. p. 67), then

λεύσσω δὲ τόδ’ ἦμαρ

becomes weak. Further, the preceding context, in which she has spoken of her laments at night (92) and at morning, clearly suggests that the sense here is, ‘so long as I look on the stars or on the sun.’

μὴ οὐ , after

οὐ λήξω

: O. T. 283 n.

τεκνολέτειῤ , ‘ slayer of her child’ (Itys, 148): as in Suppl. 60 ff. ‘the piteous bride of Tereus’ (Procne) sings of ‘her child's fate, and how he perished by her own hand.’ Cp. [Eur. ] Rhes. 550

παιδολέτωρ μελοποιὸς ἀηδονίς

. Apollodorus follows this version, acc. to which Procne, the mother and slayer of Itys, becomes a nightingale, while her sister Philomela becomes a swallow (3. 14. 8). It may be doubted whether

τεκνολέτειρα

could mean merely, ‘having lost her child.’

ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ : the prep. is not merely=‘with,’ but implies, ‘with continual wailing’: see n. on Ant. 759

ἐπὶ ψόγοισι.

ἠχὼ , a resounding cry (of grief); cp. Eur. Hipp. 790

ἴστε τίς ποτ’ ἐν δόμοις βοή

; |

ἠχὼ βαρεῖα προσπόλων μ’ ἀφίκετο

110-112

Electra invokes, (1) the house of Hades and his bride Persephone, in which the spirit of Agamemnon now dwells; (2) Hermes, who, as

ψυχοπομπός

, conducted him thither,—and who will also guide the avengers on their way (1395 f.); (3)

Ἀρά

, the imprecation uttered by the victim upon his murderers,—the personified curse, here conceived as a supernatural power (

πότνια

), which calls the Erinyes into action; and (4) the Erinyes themselves.

Ἀΐδου gives a finer rhythm than

Αιδου

here. In 137

Ἀΐδα

has a similar recommendation; and in 833

Ἀΐδαν

is required by metre, as

Ἀΐδᾳ

is in Ph. 861.

ὦ χθόνἰ Ἑρμῆ : Ai. 832

πομπαῖον Ἑρμῆν χθόνιον

: cp. O. C. 1548

Ἑ. ὁ πομπός

(n.).

Ἀρά . So in O. C. 1375 f. Oedipus invokes those

ἀραί

which he had uttered, calling upon them to be his allies (

ξυμμάχους

) against his sons; and afterwards separately invokes the Erinyes (1391). Sometimes, however, the Curse is itself called an Erinys ( Aesch. Th. 70

Ἀρά τ’, Ἐρινὺς πατρὸς ἡ μεγασθενής

): or

Ἀραί

is another title for the Erinyes collectively ( Aesch. Eum. 417 ).

πότνια , as the Erinyes are

πότνιαι δεινῶπες

( O. C. 84 ).

σεμναὶ : O. C. 89

θεῶν

σεμνῶν ἕδραν

(at Colonus: cp. ib. 42 n.): Aesch. Eum. 1041

δεῦρ’ ἴτε, σεμναί.

θεῶν παῖδες , in the general sense that they are called into existence and activity by the resolve of the gods to punish guilt: cp. Ant. 1075

Ἅιδου καὶ θεῶν Ἐρινύες

. Mythologically, the Erinyes are

Γῆς τε καὶ Σκότου κόραι

, O. C. 40 (n.).

ὁρᾶθ’ : cp. Ai. 835 f.

τὰς ἀεί τε παρθένους

ἀεί θ’ ὁρώσας πάντα τἀν βροτοῖς πάθη

, |

σεμνὰς Ἐρινῦς τανύποδας

: O. C. 42

τὰς πάνθ’ ὁρώσας

αἳ τοὺς εὐνὰς ὑποκλεπτομένους : for the acc. with the pass. verb, cp. Aesch. P. V. 171

σκῆπτρον τιμάς τ’ ἀποσυλᾶται

: so

ἀφαιροῦμαί τι, ἀποστεροῦμαί τι

. Libanius has a reminiscence of this verse in the phrase

εὐνὴν κακῶς ὑποκλέπτειν

(4. p. 598. 24).

These much-impugned words appear genuine. The murder has been prompted by the guilty love:

δόλος ἦν ὁ φράσας, ἔρος ὁ κτείνας

(197). In Electra's thought, they are inseparable. The allusion to the love follows the reference to the murder, because she regards it as the crowning outrage (271

τὴν τελευταίαν ὕβριν

) that Clytaemnestra still lives with Aegisthus. Bloodshed was not the only sin which the Erinyes punished. They were the embodied sanctions of natural law, and every crime against the family came within their cognisance. (See Introd. to Homer, p. 51, § 13.) Indeed, Electra herself speaks of the unhallowed union as a special provocation to those Avengers: 275 f.

ἡ δ’ ὧδε τλήμων ὥστε τῷ μιάστορι

ξύνεστ’, Ἐρινὺν οὔτιν’ ἐκφοβουμένη

τείσασθε : for the spelling, cp. O. T. 810 n.

ἡμετέρου (=‘my’)... μοι : cp. Ant. 734

πόλις γὰρ ἡμῖν

ἐμοὶ

)

ἁμὲ χρὴ τάσσειν ἐρεῖ;

καί μοι should not be changed to

κἀμοὶ

: cp. Tr. 684

καί μοι τάδ’ ἦν πρόρρητα

ἄγειν is said of a weight, in one scale of a balance, which ‘draws up’ the weight in the opposite scale: Dem. or. 22 § 76 (

χρυσίδες

, gold vessels)

ἄγουσα ἑκάστη μνᾶν

, ‘weighing.’ So

ἕλκειν

, Plat. Minos p. 316 A

τὰ πλεῖον ἕλκοντα βαρύτερα, τὰ δὲ ἔλαττον κουφότερα

. Here, Electra herself— i.e., the power of endurance which she represents—is the weight in one scale, and the load of grief is the weight in the other (

ἀντίρροπον

). She can no longer ‘outweigh’ it,— i.e., bear up against it. The image is more forcible than the ordinary one of a burden, since it expresses the strain of the effort to maintain an equipoise between patience and suffering.

σωκῶ occurs only here and in Aesch. Eum. 36 :

σῶκος

, ‘strong,’ only in Il. 20. 72 (as epithet of Hermes). The rt., acc. to Curtius ( Etym. § 570, 5th ed.), is sa, whence

σάο‐ς

(

σῶς

σῴζω

, sa-nu-s.

Commentary on Sophocles: Electra. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (English) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1 focus

Ὦ τοῦ στρατηγήσαντος γρ. τυραννήσαντος ἐν Τροίᾳ ποτὲ
1

Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ, νῦν ἐκεῖν ἔξεστί σοι

παρόντι λεύσσειν λεύσειν λεύσσειν, ὧν πρόθυμος ἦσθ᾽ ἀεί

τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν Ἄργος οὑπόθεις οὗ retouched L. οὗ ἐπόθεις A. τόδε,

τῆς οἰστροπλῆγος ἄλσος Ινάχου κόρης·
5

αὕτη δ᾽, Ὀρέστα, τοῦ λυκοκτόνου θεοῦ

ἀγορὰ Λύκειος· οὐξ δύξ ἀριστερᾶς δ᾽ ὅδε

Ἥρας ὁ κλεινὸς ναός· οἱ δ᾽ ἱκάνομεν,

φάσκειν Μυκήνας τὰς πολυχρύσους ὁρᾶν δραιν L pr. ὁρᾶν A. ὁρᾶν Vat. ac.

πολύφθορόν τε δῶμα Πελοπιδῶν πελοπιδᾶν, ῶν L. τόδε,
10

ὅθεν σε πατρὸς ἐκ φόνων ἐγώ ποτε

πρὸς σῆς ὁμαίμου καὶ κασιγνήτης λαβὼν

ἤνεγκα κἀξέσωσα κἀξεθρεψάμην

τοσόνδ᾽ ἐς ἥβης, πατρὶ τιμωρὸν φόνου τιμωρῶν φθόνου L. corr. p.m. or C³..

νῦν οὖν, Ὀρέστα καὶ σὺ φίλτατε ξένων
15

Πυλάδη πυλάδη(σ) L., τί χρὴ δρᾶν δρᾶν A. ἐν τάχει βουλευτέον·

ὡς ἡμὶν ἤδη λαμπρὸν ἡλίου σέλας

ἑῷα κινεῖ φθέγματ᾽ ὀρνίθων σαφῆ,

μέλαινά τ᾿ ἄστρων ἐκλέλοιπεν εὐφρόνη.

πρὶν οὖν τιν ἀνδρῶν ἐξοδοιπορεῖν στέγης,
20

ξυνάπτετον λόγοισιν· ὡς ἐνταῦθ᾽ *ἴμεν ἐμὲν ἐσμὲν ἴ· μὲν? Μ. Dawes corr.,

ἵν οὐκέτ᾽ ὀκνεῖν καιρός, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργων ἀκμή.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ὦ φίλτατ᾿ ἀνδρῶν προσπόλων, ὥς μοι σαφῆ

σημεῖα φαίνεις ἐσθλὸς εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγώς.

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος εὐγενής, κἂν ᾖ γέρων,
25

ἐν τοῖσι δεινοῖς θυμὸν οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν,

ἀλλ᾽ ὀρθὸν οὖς ἵστησιν, ὡσαύτως ὡσταύτως L. ὡσαύτως C6. δὲ σὺ

ἡμᾶς τ᾽ τ' from y? L. δ΄ Γ. ὀτρύνεις καὐτὸς ἐν πρώτοις ἕπει.

τοιγὰρ τὰ μὲν δόξαντα δηλώσω, σὺ δὲ

ὀξεῖαν ἀκοὴν τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις διδούς,

εἰ μή τι καιροῦ τυγχάνω, μεθάρμοσον.

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἡνίχ᾽ ἱκόμην τὸ Πυθικὸν

μαντεῖον, ὡς μάθοιμ' ὅτῳ τρόπῳ πατρὶ πατρὸς

δίκας ἀροίμην τῶν φονευσάντων πάρα,
35

Χρῇ μοι τοιαῦθ᾽ ὁ Φοῖβος, ὧν πεύσει τάχα·

ἄσκευον αὐτὸν ἀσπίδων τε καὶ στρατοῦ

δόλοισι κλέψαι χειρὸς ἐνδίκους σφαγάς.

ὅτ᾽ οὖν τοιόνδε χρησμὸν εἰσηκούσαμεν,

σὺ μὲν μολών, ὅταν σε καιρὸς εἰσάγῃ,
40

δόμων ἔσω τῶνδ᾽, ἴσθι πᾶν τὸ δρώμενον,

ὅπως ἂν εἰδὼς ἡμὶν ἀγγείλῃς σαφῆ.

οὐ γάρ σε μὴ γήρᾳ τε καὶ χρόνῳ μακρῷ

γνῶσ᾽, οὐδ᾽ ὑποπτεύσουσιν ὧδ᾽ ἠνθισμένον.

λόγῳ δὲ χρῶ τοιῷδ᾽ τοιῷδε, ὅτι ξένος μὲν εἶ
45

Φωκεύς, παρ' ἀνδρὸς Φανοτέως ἥκων· ὁ γὰρ

μέγιστος αὐτοῖς τυγχάνει δορυξένων.

ἄγγελλε δ᾽ ὅρκῳ προστιθείς, ὁθούνεκα

τέθνηκ᾽ Ὀρέστης ἐξ ἀναγκαίας τύχης,

ἄθλοισι Πυθικοῖσιν ἐκ τροχηλάτων
50

δίφρων κυλισθείς· ὧδ᾽ ὁ μῦθος ἑστάτω.

ἡμεῖς δὲ πατρὸς πρὸς τύμβον, ὡς ἐφίετο,

λοιβαῖσι λοιβαῖσ τε AΓ. λοιβαῖσι C. πρῶτον καὶ καρατόμοις χλιδαῖς

στέψαντες, εἶτ᾿ ἄψορρον ἥξομεν πάλιν,

τύπωμα χαλκόπλευρον ᾐρμένοι χεροῖν,
55

ὃ καὶ σὺ θάμνοις οἶσθά μοι που ποῦ κεκρυμμένον,

ὅπως λόγῳ κλέπτοντες ἡδεῖαν φάτιν

φέρωμεν φέροιμεν φέρωμεν αὐτοῖς, τοὐμὸν ὡς ἔρρει δέμας

φλογιστὸν ἤδη καὶ κατηνθρακωμένον.

τί γάρ με λυπεῖ τοῦθ᾽, ὅταν λόγῳ θανὼν
60

ἔργοισι σωθῶ κἀξενέγκωμαι κλέος;

δοκῶ μέν, οὐδὲν ὡσ οὐδὲν L. μὲ οὐδὲν A. ῥῆμα σὺν κέρδει συγκέρδει κακόν.

ἤδη γὰρ εἶδον πολλάκις καὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς

λόγῳ μάτην θνήσκοντας· εἶθ᾽, ὅταν δόμους

ἔλθωσιν αὖθις, ἐκτετίμηνται πλέον·
65

ὡς κἄμ᾽ ἐπαυχῶ τῆσδε τῆς φήμης ἄπο ο from ει L.

δεδορκότ᾽ ἐχθροῖς ἄστρον ὣς λάμψειν ἔτι.

ἀλλ᾽, ὦ πατρώα γῆ θεοί τ᾽ ἐγχώριοι,

δέξασθέ μ᾿ εὐτυχοῦντα ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς,

σύ τ᾽, ὦ πατρῷον δῶμα· σοῦ γὰρ ἔρχομαι
70

δίκῃ καθαρτὴς πρὸς θεῶν ὡρμημένος·

καὶ μή μ᾽ ἄτιμον τῆσδ᾽ ἀποστείλητε γῆς,

ἀλλ᾽ ἀρχέπλουτον καὶ καταστάτην δόμων.

εἴρηκα μέν νυν μὲν νῦν L. μὲν (νῦν om.) ΑΓ. ταῦτα· σοὶ δ᾽ ἤδη, γέρον,

τὸ σὸν μελέσθω βάντι φρουρῆσαι χρέος.
75

νὰ δ᾽ ἔξιμεν· καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν ἀνδράσι LA. ἀνδράσιν Γ.

μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

ἰώ μοί μοι ἰώ μοί μοί L. ἰώ μοι μοί Α. δύστηνος.

ΠΑ.

καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς

ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον.
80

ΟΡ.

ἆρ᾽ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ηλέκτρα ἠλέκτρα(σ) LL2.; θέλεις

μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀνακούσωμεν γόων ;

ΠΑ.

ἥκιστα, μηδὲν πρόσθεν ἢ τὰ Λοξίου

πειρώμεθ᾽ ἔρδειν κἀπὸ τῶνδ᾽ ἀρχηγετεῖν η from a L.,

πατρὸς χέοντες πατρὸ σχέσοντεσ L. λουτρά· ταῦτα γὰρ φέρει
85

νίκην τ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν καὶ κράτος τῶν δρωμένων.

ΗΛ.

ὦ φάος φάος L. ἁγνὸν

καὶ γῆς *ἰσόμοιρ᾽ ἰσόμοιρος MSS. Porson corr. ἀήρ, ὥς μοι

πολλὰς μὲν θρήνων ᾠδάς,

πολλὰς δ᾽ ἀντήρεις ᾔσθου
90

στέρνων πλαγὰς αἱμασσομένων,

ὁπόταν δνοφερὰ νὺξ ὑπολειφθῇ·

τὰ δὲ παννυχίδων ἤδη στυγεραὶ

ξυνίσασ᾽ εὐναὶ μογερῶν οἴκων οἰκιῶν LFL2V. οἴκων CoA Vat. ac.,

ὅσα τὸν δύστηνον ἐμὸν θρηνῶ
95

πατέρ', ὃν κατὰ μὲν βάρβαρον αἷαν αἴαν E. αίαν C².

φοίνιος Ἄρης οὐκ ἐξένισεν ἐξείνισεν Cο. ἐξείνισε Α. ἐξένισε Γ Pal. ἐξένισεν l2.,

μήτηρ δ᾽ ἡμὴ χώ κοινολεχὴς

Αίγισθος, ὅπως δρῦν ὑλοτόμοι ὑλοτόμου L. ὑλοτόμοι C.,

σχίζουσι κάρα φονίῳ πελέκει πέκει L pr. πελέκει C.·
100

κοὐδεὶς τούτων οἶκτος ἀπ᾿ ἄλλης

ἢ ἐμοῦ φέρεται, σοῦ, πάτερ, οὕτως

αἰκῶς ἀδίκως MSS. Brunck corr. οἰκτρῶς τε θανόντος.

ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὲν δὴ

λήξω θρήνων στυγερῶν τε γόων,
105

ἔστ᾽ ἂν παμφεγγεῖς λεύσσω παμφεγγεῖς MSS. (παμφαεῖς Pal.) Herm. corr. ἄστρων

ῥιπάς, λεύσσω λεύκω A. λεύσω Γ Pal. δὲ τόδ᾽ ἦμαρ,

μὴ οὐ τεκνολέτειρ᾽ ὥς τις ἀηδὼν

ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ κωκυτῶν L. κωκυτῷ C7. τῶνδε πατρώων

πρὸ προ L. θυρῶν ἠχὼ πᾶσι προφωνεῖν.
110

ὦ δῶμ᾽ Ἀΐδου ἄιδου L. καὶ Περσεφόνης ο C.,

ὦ χθόνι᾿ ῾Ἑρμῆ καὶ πότνι᾿ Ἀρά γρ. ποτνία ἀρά C2.,

σεμναί τε θεῶν παῖδες Ερινύες,

αὶ τοὺς ἀδίκως θνήσκοντας ὁρᾶθ᾽ ὁρᾶτε,

*αἳ Porson corr. τοὺς εὐνὰς ὑποκλεπτομένους,
115

ἔλθετ᾽, ἀρήξατε,

τίσασθε πατρὸς φόνον ἡμετέρου,

καί μοι τὸν ἐμὸν πέμψατ᾿ ἀδελφόν.

μούνη γὰρ ἄγειν οὐκ ἔτι σωκῶ

λύπης ἀντίρροπον ἄχθος.
120

ΧΟΡΟΣ.
στρ. α΄.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-120 focus

Παιδαγωγός

ὦ τοῦ στρατηγήσαντος ἐν Τροίᾳ ποτὲ
1

Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ, νῦν ἐκεῖνʼ ἔξεστί σοι

παρόντι λεύσσειν, ὧν πρόθυμος ἦσθʼ ἀεί.

τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν Ἄργος οὑπόθεις τόδε,

τῆς οἰστροπλῆγος ἄλσος Ἰνάχου κόρης·
5

αὕτη δʼ, Ὀρέστα, τοῦ λυκοκτόνου θεοῦ

ἀγορὰ Λύκειος· οὑξ ἀριστερᾶς δʼ ὅδε

Ἥρας ὁ κλεινὸς ναός· οἷ δʼ ἱκάνομεν,

φάσκειν Μυκήνας τὰς πολυχρύσους ὁρᾶν

πολύφθορόν τε δῶμα Πελοπιδῶν τόδε,
10

ὅθεν σε πατρὸς ἐκ φονῶν ἐγώ ποτε

πρὸς σῆς ὁμαίμου καὶ κασιγνήτης λαβὼν

ἤνεγκα κἀξέσωσα κἀξεθρεψάμην

τοσόνδʼ ἐς ἥβης, πατρὶ τιμωρὸν φόνου.

νῦν οὖν, Ὀρέστα καὶ σὺ φίλτατε ξένων
15

Πυλάδη, τί χρὴ δρᾶν ἐν τάχει βουλευτέον·

ὡς ἡμὶν ἤδη λαμπρὸν ἡλίου σέλας

ἑῷα κινεῖ φθέγματʼ ὀρνίθων σαφῆ

μέλαινά τʼ ἄστρων ἐκλέλοιπεν εὐφρόνη.

πρὶν οὖν τινʼ ἀνδρῶν ἐξοδοιπορεῖν στέγης,
20

ξυνάπτετον λόγοισιν· ὡς ἐνταῦθʼ ἐμέν,

ἵνʼ οὐκέτʼ ὀκνεῖν καιρός, ἀλλʼ ἔργων ἀκμή.

Ὀρέστης

ὦ φίλτατʼ ἀνδρῶν προσπόλων, ὥς μοι σαφῆ

σημεῖα φαίνεις ἐσθλὸς εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγώς.

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος εὐγενής, κἂν ᾖ γέρων,
25

ἐν τοῖσι δεινοῖς θυμὸν οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν,

ἀλλʼ ὀρθὸν οὖς ἵστησιν, ὡσαύτως δὲ σὺ

ἡμᾶς τʼ ὀτρύνεις καὐτὸς ἐν πρώτοις ἕπει.

τοιγὰρ τὰ μὲν δόξαντα δηλώσω, σὺ δὲ

ὀξεῖαν ἀκοὴν τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις διδούς,
30

εἰ μή τι καιροῦ τυγχάνω, μεθάρμοσον.

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἡνίχʼ ἱκόμην τὸ Πυθικὸν

μαντεῖον, ὡς μάθοιμʼ ὅτῳ τρόπῳ πατρὶ

δίκας ἀροίμην τῶν φονευσάντων πάρα,

χρῇ μοι τοιαῦθʼ ὁ Φοῖβος ὧν πεύσει τάχα·
35

ἄσκευον αὐτὸν ἀσπίδων τε καὶ στρατοῦ

δόλοισι κλέψαι χειρὸς ἐνδίκους σφαγάς.

ὅτʼ οὖν τοιόνδε χρησμὸν εἰσηκούσαμεν,

σὺ μὲν μολών, ὅταν σε καιρὸς εἰσάγῃ,

δόμων ἔσω τῶνδʼ, ἴσθι πᾶν τὸ δρώμενον,
40

ὅπως ἂν εἰδὼς ἡμὶν ἀγγείλῃς σαφῆ.

οὐ γάρ σε μὴ γήρᾳ τε καὶ χρόνῳ μακρῷ

γνῶσʼ, οὐδʼ ὑποπτεύσουσιν ὧδʼ ἠνθισμένον.

λόγῳ δὲ χρῶ τοιῷδʼ, ὅτι ξένος μὲν εἶ

Φωκέως παρʼ ἀνδρὸς Φανοτέως ἥκων· ὃ γὰρ
45

μέγιστος αὐτοῖς τυγχάνει δορυξένων.

ἄγγελλε δʼ ὅρκον προστιθεὶς ὁθούνεκα

τέθνηκʼ Ὀρέστης ἐξ ἀναγκαίας τύχης,

ἄθλοισι Πυθικοῖσιν ἐκ τροχηλάτων

δίφρων κυλισθείς· ὧδʼ ὁ μῦθος ἑστάτω.
50

Ὀρέστης

ἡμεῖς δὲ πατρὸς τύμβον, ὡς ἐφίετο,

λοιβαῖσι πρῶτον καὶ καρατόμοις χλιδαῖς

στέψαντες εἶτʼ ἄψορρον ἥξομεν πάλιν,

τύπωμα χαλκόπλευρον ἠρμένοι χεροῖν,

ὃ καὶ σὺ θάμνοις οἶσθά που κεκρυμμένον,
55

ὅπως λόγῳ κλέπτοντες ἡδεῖαν φάτιν

φέρωμεν αὐτοῖς, τοὐμὸν ὡς ἔρρει δέμας

φλογιστὸν ἤδη καὶ κατηνθρακωμένον.

τί γάρ με λυπεῖ τοῦθʼ, ὅταν λόγῳ θανὼν

ἔργοισι σωθῶ κἀξενέγκωμαι κλέος;
60

δοκῶ μέν, οὐδὲν ῥῆμα σὺν κέρδει κακόν.

ἤδη γὰρ εἶδον πολλάκις καὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς

λόγῳ μάτην θνῄσκοντας· εἶθʼ, ὅταν δόμους

ἔλθωσιν αὖθις, ἐκτετίμηνται πλέον·

ὡς κἄμʼ ἐπαυχῶ τῆσδε τῆς φήμης ἄπο
65

δεδορκότʼ ἐχθροῖς ἄστρον ὣς λάμψειν ἔτι.

ἀλλʼ, ὦ πατρῴα γῆ θεοί τʼ ἐγχώριοι,

δέξασθέ μʼ εὐτυχοῦντα ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς,

σύ τʼ, ὦ πατρῷον δῶμα· σοῦ γὰρ ἔρχομαι

δίκῃ καθαρτὴς πρὸς θεῶν ὡρμημένος·
70

καὶ μή μʼ ἄτιμον τῆσδʼ ἀποστείλητε γῆς,

ἀλλʼ ἀρχέπλουτον καὶ καταστάτην δόμων.

εἴρηκα μέν νυν ταῦτα· σοὶ δʼ ἤδη, γέρον,

τὸ σὸν μελέσθω βάντι φρουρῆσαι χρέος.

νὼ δʼ ἔξιμεν· καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν
75

μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστʼ ἐπιστάτης.

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰώ μοί μοι δύστηνος.

Παιδαγωγός

καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς

ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον.

Ὀρέστης

ἆρʼ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ἠλέκτρα· θέλεις
80

μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀπακούσωμεν γόων;

Παιδαγωγός

ἥκιστα· μηδὲν πρόσθεν ἢ τὰ Λοξίου

πειρώμεθʼ ἔρδειν κἀπὸ τῶνδʼ ἀρχηγετεῖν,

πατρὸς χέοντες λουτρά· ταῦτα γὰρ φέρει

νίκην τʼ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν καὶ κράτος τῶν δρωμένων.
85

Ἠλέκτρα

ὦ φάος ἁγνὸν

καὶ γῆς ἰσόμοιρʼ ἀήρ, ὥς μοι

πολλὰς μὲν θρήνων ᾠδάς,

πολλὰς δʼ ἀντήρεις ᾔσθου

στέρνων πληγὰς αἱμασσομένων,
90

ὁπόταν δνοφερὰ νὺξ ὑπολειφθῇ·

τὰ δὲ παννυχίδων ἤδη στυγεραὶ

ξυνίσασʼ εὐναὶ μογερῶν οἴκων,

ὅσα τὸν δύστηνον ἐμὸν θρηνῶ

πατέρʼ, ὃν κατὰ μὲν βάρβαρον αἶαν
95

φοίνιος Ἄρης οὐκ ἐξένισεν,

μήτηρ δʼ ἡμὴ χὠ κοινολεχὴς

Αἴγισθος ὅπως δρῦν ὑλοτόμοι

σχίζουσι κάρα φονίῳ πελέκει,

κοὐδεὶς τούτων οἶκτος ἀπʼ ἄλλης
100

ἢ ʼμοῦ φέρεται, σοῦ, πάτερ, οὕτως

αἰκῶς οἰκτρῶς τε θανόντος.

103

Ἠλέκτρα

ἀλλʼ οὐ μὲν δὴ

λήξω θρήνων στυγερῶν τε γόων,

ἔστʼ ἂν παμφεγγεῖς ἄστρων
105

ῥιπάς, λεύσσω δὲ τόδʼ ἦμαρ,

μὴ οὐ τεκνολέτειρʼ ὥς τις ἀηδὼν

ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ τῶνδε πατρῴων

πρὸ θυρῶν ἠχὼ πᾶσι προφωνεῖν.

ὦ δῶμʼ Ἀΐδου καὶ Περσεφόνης,
110

ὦ χθόνιʼ Ἑρμῆ καὶ πότνιʼ Ἀρὰ

σεμναί τε θεῶν παῖδες Ἐρινύες,

αἳ τοὺς ἀδίκως θνῄσκοντας ὁρᾶθʼ,

αἳ τοὺς εὐνὰς ὑποκλεπτομένους,

ἔλθετʼ, ἀρήξατε, τίσασθε πατρὸς
115

φόνον ἡμετέρου,

καί μοι τὸν ἐμὸν πέμψατʼ ἀδελφόν·

μούνη γὰρ ἄγειν οὐκέτι σωκῶ

λύπης ἀντίρροπον ἄχθος.
120

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1 focus

Son of the king who led the Achaean host
1

Erewhile beleaguering Troy, ’tis thine to day
1

To see around thee what through many a year
1

Thy forward spirit hath sighed for. Argolis
1

Lies here before us, hallowed as the scene

Of Io’s wildering pain: yonder, the mart

Named from the wolf slaying God, and there, to our left,

Hera’s famed temple. For we reach the bourn

Of far renowned Mycenae, rich in gold

And Pelops’ fatal roofs before us rise,

Haunted with many horrors, whence my hand,

Thy murdered sire then lying in his gore,

Received thee from thy sister, and removed

Where I have kept thee safe and nourished thee

To this bright manhood thou dost bear, to be
5

The avenger of thy father’s bloody death.
5

Wherefore, Orestes, and thou, Pylades,
5

Dearest of friends, though from a foreign soil,
5

Prepare your enterprise with speed. Dark night

Is vanished with her stars, and day’s bright orb

Hath waked the birds of morn into full song.

Now, then, ere foot of man go forth, ye two

Knit counsels. ’Tis no time for shy delay:

The very moment for your act is come.

OR

Kind faithful friend, how well thou mak’st appear

Thy constancy in service to our house!

As some good steed, aged, but nobly bred,

Slacks not his spirit in the day of war,

But points his ears to the fray, even so dost thou

Press on and urge thy master in the van.

Hear, then, our purpose, and if aught thy mind,

Keenly attent, discerns of weak or crude

In this I now set forth, admonish me.

I, when I visited the Pythian shrine
25

Oracular, that I might learn whereby
25

To punish home the murderers of my sire,
25

Had word from Phoebus which you straight shall hear:
25

‘No shielded host, but thine own craft, O King!

The righteous death-blow to thine arm shall bring.’

Then, since the will of Heaven is so revealed,

Go thou within, when Opportunity

Shall marshal thee the way, and gathering all

Their business, bring us certain cognizance.

Age and long absence are a safe disguise;

They never will suspect thee who thou art.

And let thy tale be that another land,

Phocis, hath sent thee forth, and Phanoteus,

Than whom they have no mightier help in war.

Then, prefaced with an oath, declare thy news,

Orestes’ death by dire mischance, down-rolled

From wheel-borne chariot in the Pythian course.

So let the fable be devised; while we,

As Phoebus ordered, with luxuriant locks

Shorn from our brows, and fair libations, crown

My father’s sepulchre, and thence return

Bearing aloft the shapely vase of bronze

That’s hidden hard by in brushwood, as thou knowest,

And bring them welcome tidings, that my form

Is fallen ere now to ashes in the fire.

How should this pain me, in pretence being dead,

Really to save myself and win renown?

No saying bodes men ill, that brings them gain.

Oft have I known the wise, dying in word,

Return with glorious salutation home.

So lightened by this rumour shall mine eye

Blaze yet like bale-star on mine enemies.

O native earth! and Gods that hold the land,

Accept me here, and prosper this my way!

Thou, too, paternal hearth! To thee I come,

Justly to cleanse thee by behest from heaven.

Send me not bootless, Gods, but let me found

A wealthy line of fair posterity!
35

I have spoken. To thy charge! and with good heed
35

Perform it. We go forth. The Occasion calls,
35

Great taskmaster of enterprise to men.
35

ELECTRA

(). Woe for my hapless lot!

OLD M

Hark! from the doors, my son, methought there came

A moaning cry, as of some maid within.
80

OR

Can it be poor Electra? Shall we stay,

And list again the lamentable sound?

OLD M

Not so. Before all else begin the attempt

To execute Apollo’s sovereign will,

Pouring libation to thy sire: this makes
85

Victory ours, and our success assured.

EL
Enter ELECTRA . MONODY .

O purest light!

And air by earth alone

Measured and limitable, how oft have ye

Heard many a piercing moan,

Many a blow full on my bleeding breast,

When gloomy night

Hath slackened pace and yielded to the day!

And through the hours of rest,

Ah! well ’tis known

To my sad pillow in yon house of woe,

What vigil of scant joyance keeping,

Whiles all within are sleeping,

For my dear father without stint I groan,

Whom not in bloody fray

The War-god in the stranger-land

Received with hospitable hand,

But she that is my mother, and her groom,

As woodmen fell the oak,

Cleft through the skull with murdering stroke.

And o’er this gloom

No ray of pity, save from only me,

Goes forth on thee,
85

My father, who didst die
85

A cruel death of piteous agony.
85

But ne’er will I
85

Cease from my crying and sad mourning lay,
85

While I behold the sky,
85

Glancing with myriad fires, or this fair day.
85

But, like some brood-bereavèd nightingale,
85

With far-heard wail,
85

Here at my father’s door my voice shall sound.
85

O home beneath the ground!
85

Hades unseen, and dread Persephonè,

And darkling Hermes, and the Curse revered,

And ye, Erinyës, of mortals feared,

Daughters of Heaven, that ever see

Who die unjustly, who are wronged i’ the bed

Of those they wed,

Avenge our father’s murder on his foe!

Aid us, and send my brother to my side;

Alone I cannot longer bide

The oppressive strain of strength-o’ermastering woe.

CHORUS
CHORUS (entering).

O sad Electra, child Of a lost mother, why still flow

Unceasingly with lamentation wild

For him who through her treachery beguiled,

Inveigled by a wife’s deceit,

Fallen at the foul adulterer’s feet,
85

Most impiously was quelled long years ago?
85

Perish the cause! if I may lawfully pray so.

EL

O daughters of a noble line,

Ye come to soothe me from my troublous woe.

I see, I know:

Your love is not unrecognized of mine.

But yet I will not seem as I forgot,

Or cease to mourn my hapless father’s lot.
85

Oh, of all love
85

That ever may you move,
85

This only boon I crave—

Leave me to rave!

CH

Lament, nor praying breath

Will raise thy sire, our honoured chief,

From that dim multitudinous gulf of death.

Beyond the mark, due grief that measureth,

Still pining with excess of pain
85

Thou urgest lamentation vain,
85

That from thy woes can bring thee no relief.

Why hast thou set thy heart on unavailing grief?

EL

Senseless were he who lost from thought

A noble father, lamentably slain!

I love thy strain,

Bewildered mourner, bird divinely taught,

For ‘Itys,’ ‘Itys,’ ever heard to pine.

O Niobè, I hold thee all divine,
85

Of sorrows queen,
85

Who with all tearful mien
85

Insepulchred in stone

Aye makest moan.

CH

Not unto thee alone hath sorrow come,

Daughter, that thou shouldst carry grief so far

Beyond those dwellers in the palace-home

Who of thy kindred are

And own one source with thee.

What life hath she,

Chrysothemis, and Iphianassa bright,

And he whose light
85

Is hidden afar from taste of horrid doom,
85

Youthful Orestes, who shall come
85

To fair Mycenae’s glorious town,
85

Welcomed as worthy of his sire’s renown,

Sped by great Zeus with kindly thought,

And to this land with happiest omen brought?

EL

Awaiting him I endlessly endure;

Unwed and childless still I go,

With tears in constant flow,

Girt round with misery that finds no cure.

But he forgets his wrong and all my teaching.
90

What message have I sent beseeching,
90

But baffled flies back idly home?

Ever he longs, he saith, but, longing, will not come.

CH

Take heart, dear child! still mighty in the sky

Is Zeus who ruleth all things and surveys.

Commit to him thy grief that surgeth high,

And walk in safer ways,

Let not hate vex thee sore,

Nor yet ignore

The cause of hate and sorrow in thy breast.

Time bringeth rest:
90

All is made easy through his power divine.
90

The heir of Agamemnon’s line
90

Who dwells by Crisa’s pastoral strand

Shall yet return unto his native land;

And he shall yet regard his own

Who reigns beneath upon his Stygian throne.

EL

Meanwhile my life falls from me in despair

Years pass and patience nought avails:

My heart within me fails:

Orphaned I pine without protecting care;

And like a sojourner all unregarded
90

At slave-like labour unrewarded
90

I toil within my father’s hall

Thus meanly attired, and starved, a table-serving thrall.

CH

Sad was thy greeting when he reached the strand,

Piteous thy crying where thy father lay

On that fell day

When the bronze edge with dire effect was driven.

By craft ’twas planned,
90

By frenzied lust the blow was given:
90

Mother and father of a monstrous birth,

Whether a God there wrought or mortal of the Earth.

EL

O day beyond all days that yet have rolled

Most hateful in thy course of light!

O horror of that night!

O hideous feast, abhorr’d, not to be told!

How could I bear it, when my father’s eye

Saw death advancing from the ruthless pair,

Conjoint in cruel villany,
90

By whom my life was plunged in black despair?
90

Oh, to the workers of such deeds as these

May great Olympus’ Lord

Return of evil still afford,

Nor let them wear the gloss of sovran ease!

CH

Take thought to keep thy crying within bound.

Doth not thy sense enlighten thee to see

How recklessly

Even now thou winnest undeservèd woe?

Still art thou found
90

To make thy misery overflow
90

Through self-bred gloomy strife. But not for long

Shall one alone prevail who strives against the strong.

EL

’Twas dire oppression taught me my complaint

I know my rage a quenchless fire:

But nought, however dire,

Shall visit this my frenzy with restraint,

Or check my lamentation while I live.

Dear friends, kind women of true Argive breed,

Say, who can timely counsel give
90

Or word of comfort suited to my need?
90

Beyond all cure shall this my cause be known.

No counsels more! Ah leave,

Vain comforters, and let me grieve

With ceaseless pain, unmeasured in my moan.

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1 focus

O Sohn des Feldherrn, der in Troas einst gebot,¹
1

Des Agamemnon, endlich ist es dir vergönnt,

Zu schaun mit Augen, was zu schaun dich stets verlangt.

Dein graues Argos, deiner Sehnsucht Land, ist hier,²

Der wuthgeschlagnen Inachid' uralter Hain;
5

Das dort, Orestes, ist der Markt des Lykiers,

Des wolferlegenden Gottes, und zur Liuken hier

Der Hera stolzer Tempel: wo wir hingelangt,

Schaust du Mykenä's Veste, reich an goldnem Schaz,

Und hier der Pelopsenkel unheilschwangres Haus,
10

Wo nach des Vaters grausem Tod ich ehedem

Von deiner Schwester dich empfing und weiter trug

Und rettet' und zu solcher Jugendblüte dich

Aufzog, dereinst zu rächen deines Vaters Mord.

Nun denn, Orestes, und o du, mein Pylades,
15

Der Freunde liebster, was zu thun, berathet schnell:

Denn schon erweckt der Sonne strahlenvoller Glanz

Der Vögel Morgenstimmen uns zu hellem Schall;

Die schwarze Nacht der Sterne schwand in's Dunkel hin.

Drum eh' ein Mann aus dieses Hauses Pforte tritt,
20

Beredet euch zusammen; denn wir stehen da,

Wo's nimmer gilt zu säumen, wo's der That bedarf.

Orestes.

bester Diener, liebster Mann, wie legst du mir

Der Treue Zeichen gegen uns so deutlich dar!

Denn wie das Noß aus edler Art, obschon betagt,
25

In keiner Schreckniß und Gefahr den Muth verliert,

Nein, stolz das Ohr aufrichtet: also du, der uns

Zum Kampfe treibt und selbst der Ersten Einer folgt.

Drum will ich offenbaren, was ich ausgedacht;

Doch du vergönne meinem Wort ein scharfes Ohr,
30

Und traf ich nicht das Rechte, gib mir andern Rath.

Nachdem ich angekommen war bei'm pythischen

Orakel, dort zu fragen, wie des Vaters Tod

Ich rächen mög' an jenen, die ihn mordeten,

Gebot mir Phöbos also, wie du gleich vernimmst:
35

Den Streich gerechter Rache mit geheimer List

Allein zu führen, nicht bewehrt mit Schild und Heer.

Nun, da mir solcher Gottesspruch verkündet ward,

Tritt du, sobald die Stunde dich gelegen führt,

Zu diesem Haus ein, auszuspäh'n, was hier geschieht,
40

Auf daß du klar uns meldest, was du wohl erforscht.

Unkenntlich schuf dich Alter und die lange Zeit,

Und vor Verdacht bewahrt dich dieser Blumenschmuck.³

Doch also sprich zu jenen, daß ein Fremdling du,

Ein Phoker seiest, abgesandt von Phanoteus;⁴
45

Denn dieser Mann ist ihres Hauses bester Freund.

Mit Eid betheuernd, melde dann, Orestes sei

Dahingeschieden durch ein unerbittlich Loos,

Bei Kämpfen Pytho's aus dem raschhinrollenden⁵

Rennwagen stürzend. Also sei der Rede Sinn.
50

Wir aber kränzen, wie der Gott befahl, zuerst

Mit Spenden und des Hauptes abgeschnitt'ner Zier⁶

Des Vaters Hügel, kehren dann hieher zurück,

Den erzgeformten Aschenkrug in meinem Arm,

Den ich im Busch verborgen, wie dir wohlbekannt,
55

Auf daß, in Worten täuschend, wir den Argen hier

Die frohe Botschaft bringen, wie mein Körper schon

Verbrannt zur Asche, schon in Staub zerfallen sei.

Was kann mich's härmen, wenn ich, todt dem Worte nach,⁷

In Thaten lebe, strahlend in des Ruhmes Glanz?
60

Kein Wort ja dünkt mir übel, wenn es Nuzen bringt.

Auch weise Männer hört' ich durch ein falsch Gerücht

Schon oft als todt verkünden; wenn sie dann zurück

Nach Hause kehrten, waren sie noch mehr geehrt.

So hoff' ich auch nach dieser Botschaft lebend noch
65

Gleich einem Stern zu leuchten vor den Feinden dort.

Vatererd' und meiner Heimat Götter ihr,

Empfanget segenbringet mich auf diesem Pfad,

Und meiner Ahnen Schwelle du: dich komm' ich ja

Zu rächen, dich zu sühnen, durch den Gott erweckt:
70

Stoßt nicht, bedeckt mit Schande, mich aus diesem Land,

Nein, laßt des Vaters Macht und Haus mich neu erbau'n!

Nun sagt' ich Alles; du bereite dich sofort

Zu geh'n und deines Amtes treu zu wahren, Greis.

(zu Pylades)

Wir zieh'n hinaus; die mächtige Stunde fordert uns,
75

Die ordnend über jede That der Menschen wacht.

weh, weh mir!

(im Hause)

Der Pfleger.

Horch! Innerhalb des Hauses wähnt' ich jammernde

Wehklagen einer Dienerin zu hören, Kind.

Orestes.

War's nicht Elektra? Meinst du nicht, wir sollten noch
80

Verweilen hier und lauschen ihrem Klageruf?

Der Pfleger.

Mit nichten. Nichts geschehe, bis wir Loxias'⁸

Gebot erfüllten und zuerst dem Vater dort

Sein Todtenopfer brachten; denn das sichert uns

Den Sieg, verleiht uns hohe Kraft zur schweren That.
85

Oheiliges Licht⁹

(Sie gehen ab. Elektra tritt aus dem Palaste.) (allein)

Elektra.

Und erdumströmende Luft, o wie oft

Habt ihr mein gramvoll Klaglied,

Wie oft es gehört, da verzweifelnd

Ich die blutende Brust mit den Händen zerschlug,
90

Wenn finstere Nacht von der Erde verschwand!

Und den nächtlichen Gram dann, ach, ihn kennt

Mein düstres Gemach in dem Unglückshaus,

Sieht weinen mich oft um des Vaters Geschick,

Dem nicht in des Fremdlings fernem Gebiet
95

Gott Ares erschloß sein blutiges Haus,

Nein, dem sein Weib und der Buhle mit ihr,

Aegisthos, so wie Holzhauer den Baum,

Mit mordendem Beil hier spalten das Haupt.

Und Klagen erhebt kein anderes Weib,
100

Als ich, mein Vater, um dich, der so

Schmachvoll und kläglich dahinstarb.

Nein, niemals hemm' ich die Stimme des Grams

Und den finsteren Harm,

So lang ich schaue der Sterne
105

Weitstrahlenden Glanz und den Tag hier,

Daß, wie Philomel' um des Kindes Verlust,

Ich den Ruf an der Thür des Gemordeten hier

Nicht jammernd erhöb' und von Allen gehört.

Ach, Aïdes' Haus, Persephone's Haus!
110

Du Hermes drunten! O Fluchgöttin,¹⁰

Und Erinnyen ihr, ein göttlich Geschlecht,

Die heimlichen Ehbruch strafen und schau'n,

Wen tückischer Mord unschuldig verdarb,

Kommt helfend heran:
115

O rächet den Mord, an dem Vater verübt,

Und zum Beistand führt mir den Bruder zurück!

Denn nimmer zu tragen vermag ich allein

Das Gewicht in der Schale des Unglücks.

(Der Chor, von der Stadtseite kommend, ordnet sich vor dem Palaste.) Elektra. Der Chor. Erste Strophe.

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1 focus

O son of gi^eat Atrides ! he who led
1

Embattled Greece to Troy's devoted walls,
1

At length behold what thy desmng eyes
1

So long have sought. Behold thy native soil,
1

Thy much-loved Argos, and the hallowed grove

Of lo, frantic maid. On this side lies

The Lycian forum, on the left the fane

Of Juno, far renowned. Behold ! we come

To rich Mycense, and the slaughterous house

Of Pelops' hapless race, from whose sad walls

Long since I bore thee, at thy sister's hand

Gladly rocoivod, niul with paternal oiire

To this blest clay have fostered up thy youth,

Till riper years should give thee to return,

And pay with dire revenge thy father's murder.

Now, my Orestes, and thou dear companior
5

Of all our suft'erings, much-loved Pylades,
5

Let deepest counsel sway our just resolves ;
5

/For lo ! resplendent Pha-bus wifh his light

/ Calls up t lie cheerful birds to early song,

VAnd gloomy night hath lost her starry train :

Pours forth her busy throngs, this instant here

JiOt us consult. Believe me, 'tis no time

For dull delay ; 'tis the decisive hour,

And this the very crisis of our fate.

Orestes
( V)me then, my friends, and ere th' awakened city

What proofs thou giv'st me of tlie noblest

nature

And true benevolence, thou good old man !

Of servants sure the faithfullest and best

That ever bore the name : the generous steed,

Though worn with years, thus keeps his wonted courage.

And warns his master of approaching danger;

fjike him thou stir'st me up to noble deeds.

And follow'st me undaunted : but attend
25

To what I have resolved, and if I err,
25

^Let thy superior judgment set mfiriglit.
25

When to the Delphic oracle I flew,
25

Eager to know how on my father's foes

J best might satiate my revenge, the god

Enjoined me not by force or open arms

To rush upon them, but with guileful arts

And silent well-conducted fraud betraythem.

Such was his wdll. Thou, therefore, soon as time

Shall lend thee opportunity, unknown

And unsuspected (as thy absence hence

For so long space and hoary age shall make thee)

Must steal upon them, learn their secret counsels,

As soon thou mayst, and quick inform us of them ;

Say thou'rt of Phocis, from Phanoteus sent

By one who is their friend and firm ally ;

Sav, and confirm it with a solemn oath.

Orestes is no more — by a rude shock

Thrown from his chariot at the Pythian games.

Be this thy tale : meantime (for thus the god

His will divine expressed) my father's tomb

With due libations and devoted hair

Ourselves will crown ; and thence returning bring,

From the dark covert where thou knowst 'twas hid,

The brazen urn. Thei-e, we shall tell the tyrant —

Thrice welcome news ! — Orestes' ashes lie.

What should deter me from the pious fraud?

Since my feigned death but gains me real fame,

And I shall wake to better life : the deed

Which brings success and honour, must be good.

Oft times the wisest and the best of men

From death like this have rose with added greatness ;

E'en so thy friend to his deluded foes

Shall soon return unlooked-for, and before them

Shine like a star with more distinguished lustre.

O my loved country ! and its guardian gods,
35

Receive Ore.^tes, and with happy omen
35

Propitious smile ! And thou, paternal seat —
35

For lo ! by Heaven's command I come to purge thee
35

Of vile usurpers, and avenge thy wrongs —

Drive me not from thee an abandoned exile

With infamy, but grant me to possess

My father's throne, and fix his injured race.

Thus far 'tis well. My faithful minister,

Thou to thy office, we to ours with speed ;

So time and opportunity require

On whom the fate of mortals must depend.

Governor

Methought a mournful voice

Spake from within.

Shall we not stay and hearken to it ?
80

Governor

No :

First be Apollo's great behests obeyed

Before thy father's tomb. That pious deed

Performed shall fire our souls with nobler wariuih,

And crown our bold attempt with fair success. [ExucuL

Eleotra.

O hJicred light I and O thou ambient aii' !

Her sighs and groans, and witnessed to her woes,

Which ever as each hateful morn appeared

T poured befoi-e you : what at eve retired

I felt of anguish my sad couch alone

Can tell, which watered nightly with my tears

Received me sorrowing — tliat best can tell

What pangs I suffered for a hapless father,

Whom not tlie god of war with ruthless hand

Struck nobly fighting in a distant soil.

But my fell mother, and the cursed ^gisthus,

The partner of her bed, remorseless slew.

Untimely didst thou fall, lamented shade,
85

Nor shall she ce;ise to mourn thee, while these eyes
85

View the fair heavens or behold the sun !
85

Never ! oh, never ! Like the nightingale.
85

Whose plaintive song bewails her ravished brood,
85

Here will I still lament my father's wrongs,
85

And teach the echo to repeat my moan.
85

O ye infernal deities ! and thou
85

Terrestrial Hermes ! and thou, Nemesis,
85

Replete with curses ! and ye vengeful Furies,

Offspring of gods, the ministers of wrath

To vile adulterers, who with pity view

The slaughtered innocent— behold this deed !

Oh ! come, assist, revenge my father's murder ;

Quickly, oh, quickly bring me my Orestes ;

For lo ! 1 sink beneath oppressive woe,

And can no longer bear the weight alone.

Chorus
Scene II. Scene III.

O wretched daughter of an impious mother !

'^I'ilt thou for ever mourn, for ever thus,

With unavailing tears and endless sorrow,

Lament the royal Agamemnon's fate,

By a vile woman's wicked arts betrayed?
85

Perish the hand (forgive the pious curse.
85

Ye heavenly powers !) that gave the deadly blow I

Electra

My noble friends and partners in affliction,

Who thus, to soothe my sorrows, kindly try

Each art which love and friendship can inspire ;

Ye come to comfort me, I know ye do.

I know my tears are fruitless all and vain ;
90

But, oh ! permit me to indulge my griefs,

For I must weep.

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1 focus

THOU son of Agamemnon, who 'gainst Troy
1

Once led the pow'rs of Greece, now may thine eyes
1

Behold what long hath raised thy ardent wish.
1

This is the ancient Argos; this the grove

Of Iö, stung with frenzy o'er the earth

To wander; the Lycæan forum this

Of the Lycæan Phœbus; on the left

Glorious through Greece that stately temple stands

Sacred to Juno. Now we are advanced

Whence thou may'st see Mycenæ rich in gold;

And this the house of the Pelopidæ
5

With frequent slaughters stain'd: in times long past,
5

Beneath his murderers when thy father fell,
5

I took thee from thy sister's pious hand,

I bore thee hence, I saved thee, to this age

I train'd thee to avenge thy father's blood.

This hour, Orestes, and thou faithful friend,

Orestes

Loved Pylades, demands your firm resolves :

This hour determine; for the early songs

Of birds call forth the sun's resplendent beams,

And the stars vanish from the dusky night.

Now, ere the foot of man from forth the gates

Shall tread the streets, consult: for from this hour

Th' important time to instant action calls.

O thou most loved of servants, strong the proofs

Thou givest me of thy goodness and firm faith:

For as the generous steed e'en in old age

Of his high courage in the fierce alarm

Abates not, but with pride sustains the charge,

So dost thou urge me forward, and advance
25

E'en in the front of danger: for this cause
25

I will unfold my counsels to my words
25

Give thou attentive heed, and where I judge
25

Amiss,, thy riper prudence be my guide.
25

When to the fate-foretelling shrine I came

Of Pytho, and inquired by what best way

I on his impious murderers might avenge

My father's blood, this answer Phœbus gave,

" In arms advance not, nor with martial force,

"But steal upon them, and with fraudful hand

"Let thy just fury strike th' avenging blow.""

These mandates known, as time and chance present

A fair occasion, enter thou this house,

And learn what passes there; me much imports

Clear information; thee they will not know

Absent so long, and chang'd by hoary age;

Nor thus attired suspicion wilt thou wake.

Thou art a stranger, so address thy tale,

Of Phocis, sent by Phanoteus, now join'd

In close alliance with them; say, and add

The sanction of an oath, that by the force

Of ruthless fate Orestes is no more,

Hurl'd from his chariot in the Pythian games.

This be the purport of thy tale. Mean time,

Obedient to the god, my father's tomb

We with libations and these sever'd locks.

Will honour. Thence returning, in our hands

The brazen sculptured urn, now, as thou know'st,

Hid in the tangled thicket, we will bring;

That we may thus deceive them with a tale

To them most grateful, that my wretched corse

Already on the funeral pile is burnt,

And my cold ashes in this urn enclosed.

Why should this grieve me, that in words I die,

When I in deed am saved, and by them raised

To glory? Nor ill-omen'd shall I deem

A word which gives the promise of success.

Oft e'en the wise have I observed, by fame:

Reported dead, return, and rise again...!!

To higher honour. Such shall be my boast,

I from this rumour shall be found alive,

And, like a star, to my astonish'd foes

Yet shine. But, O my country, and ye gods

The guardians of my country, to your care

Receive me, and protect me in these ways!

And thou, my father's house! for I am come

With vengeance, at the impulse of the gods,

To purge thy stain away: send me not hence

Dishonour'd, but to wealth, to greatness raised,

Give me thy ancient glories to restore !
35

Of this enough. Be it thy care, old man,
35

The part assign'd thee to discharge. We two
35

Must leave thee now; th' occasion so requires,
35

Whose sovereign power o'er ev'ry work presides.
35

Electra

O miserable me!

Attendant

Some female servant with the voice of grief

Methinks I hear lamenting in the house.
80

Orestes

Is it not rather poor Electra's voice?

Attendant
[within.

Wilt thou we stay and listen to her moans?

That must not be: no deed may we attempt

Ere we perform the mandates of the god.

Begin with these; and at thy father's tomb
85

Pour the libations: that will give us strength
85

To act, and conquest to our toils ensure.

Electra

Thou holy light, thou air around the earth

Extended wide, how often hast thou heard

My strains of woe, how often heard me beat

My bleeding breast, when night before the dawn

Withdraws her darkening veil! For in her shades

The hated couches of this mournful house
90

Are conscious to my grief, while I lament
90

My father's ruin: him the god of war

Sunk not with wounds in a barbaric land;

My mother, and the partner of her bed,

Aegisthus

hew'd him with the bloody axe

As woodmen hew an oak; nor does thy death,

My father, thy unjust and cruel death

With sorrow touch one female heart, save mine.

But never will I cease my strains of woe,

My mournful lamentations, whilst I view

The stars bright radiance, whilst I view the day.

No; as some nightingale, her young ones lost,

Before my father's gates I pour to all

My wailings, and the notes of woe, aloud.

O house of Pluto and his gloomy queen ;
90

O Hermes, guide to the infernal realms;
90

Thou, dreaded Ate; and ye pow'rs revered,
90

Terrific Furies, daughters of the gods;

Those, who by impious hands were slain, you see ;

Those, who by stealth the royal bed invade;

Come, aid, avenge my murder'd father's blood;

Send me my brother; for this weight of grief,

Which sinks me, I no more can bear alone!

Chorus
ELECTRA, CHORUS.

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-120 focus

Paedagogus

Son of him who once commanded our forces at Troy , son of Agamemnon!—now you may survey all that your heart has desired for so long. There is the ancient Argos of your yearning,
1

that consecrated land from which the gad-fly drove the daughter of Inachus; there, Orestes, is the Lycean market place, named from the wolf-slaying god; there on the left is Hera’s famous temple; and in this place to which we have come, know that you see Mycenae , the rich in gold,
5

and here the house of Pelops’ heirs, so often stained with bloodshed. Long ago from here, away from the murder of your father, I carried you for her whose blood is yours, your sister, and saved you and reared you up to manhood to be the avenger of your murdered father.

10

Now, therefore, Orestes, and you, best of allies, Pylades, our plan of action must be quickly laid; for look, already the sun’s bright ray is stirring the birds’ songs into clarity, and the kindly darkness of the stars is spent.
15

Before, then, anyone comes out from the house, we must make our plans, since we are at the point where it is no longer opportune to hesitate, but it is the moment for action.
20

Orestes

True friend and follower, how well you prove your loyalty to our house!

Just as a thoroughbred mount, even if advanced in years, does not lose courage in danger, but pricks up his ears, so you speed us forward and follow in the first ranks. I will tell you, then, what I have determined.
25

Listen closely to my words and correct me, if I miss the mark in any way.
When I went to the Pythian oracle to learn how I might avenge my father on his murderers,
30

Phoebus gave me the commandment which you will now hear: that alone, and by stealth, without the aid of arms or large numbers, I should carry off my right hand’s just slaughters. Accordingly, since I received this divine declaration, you must go into that house there
35

when opportunity gives you entrance, and learn all that is happening, so that you may report to us out of sure knowledge. Your age and the lapse of time will prevent them from recognizing you; they will never suspect who you are with that silvered hair. Let your story be that you are a Phocian stranger
40

sent by Phanoteus, since he is the greatest of their allies. Tell them, and affirm it with your oath, that Orestes has perished by a fatal chance, hurled at the Pythian games
45

from his speeding chariot. Let that be the substance of your message. Meanwhile, we will first crown my father’s tomb as the god ordered with libations and the luxuriant tribute of a severed lock; then we will return here, bearing in our hands an urn of hammered bronze
50

—now hidden, as you no doubt know, in the brushwood—so that we may gladden them with the false tidings that this body of mine exists no more, but has been consumed with fire and reduced to ashes. How does it hurt me, when by feigned death
55

I find true life and win renown? No word is ill-omened, I trust, if it yields gain. For often before now I have seen clever men die in false report; then, when they return home, they are held in greater honor.
60

And so for myself I trust that as a result of this rumor I, too, shall live, shining down like a star upon my enemies.
But you, O my fatherland and native gods of my soil, receive me with good fortune in this journey, and you also, house of my ancestors,
65

since I come by divine mandate to cleanse you as justice demands. Do not dismiss me from this land in dishonor, but grant that I may rule over my possessions and restore my house!
I have said enough. Go now, old one, and take care to watch over your task.
70

The two of us will depart; for so opportunity bids, chief ruler of every enterprise for men.
75

77 Within.

Electra

ah, me, ah, joyless me!

Paedagogus

Listen, my son; from the doors of the house, I think, came the sound of some serving girl moaning inside.

Orestes

Can it be my joyless Electra? Shall we remain here and listen to her cries?
80

Paedagogus

No, no; before all else, let us strive to obey the commands of Loxias and from them make a fair beginning by pouring libations to your father. For such actions bring

victory within our grasp and give us mastery in all our doings. Exeunt Paedagogus on the spectators left, Orestes and Pylades on the right.
85

86 Enter Electra, from the house.

Electra

O you pure sunlight, and you air, light’s equal partner over earth, how often have you heard the chords of my laments

and the thudding blows against this bloodied breast at the time of gloomy night’s leaving off! My accursed bed in that house of suffering there knows well already how I observe my night-long rites—how often I bewail my miserable
90

father, whom bloody Ares did not welcome with deadly gifts in a foreign land, but my mother and her bedfellow Aegisthus split his head with murderous axe, just as woodmen chop an oak.
95

And for this crime no pitying cry bursts from any lips but mine, when you, Father, have died a death so cruel and so deserving of pity!
100

103

But never will I end from cries and bitter lamentation,

while I look on the stars’ glistening flashes or on this light of day. No, like the nightingale, slayer of her offspring, I will wail without ceasing, and cry aloud to all here at the doors of my father.

105

O House of Hades and Persephone! O Hermes of the shades! O potent Curse, and you fearsome daughters of the gods, the Erinyes, who take note when a life is unjustly taken, when a marriage-bed is thievishly dishonored,
110

come, help me, bring vengeance for the murder of my father and send me my brother. I no longer have the strength to hold up alone against
115

the load of grief that crushes me.
120

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πρὶν οὖν τιν ἀνδρῶν ἐξοδοιπορεῖν στέγης, 20 ξυνάπτετον λόγοισιν· ὡς ἐνταῦθ᾽ *ἴμεν ἐμὲν ἐσμὲν ἴ· μὲν? Μ. Dawes corr., ἵν οὐκέτ᾽ ὀκνεῖν καιρός, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργων ἀκμή.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ἄθλοισι Πυθικοῖσιν ἐκ τροχηλάτων 50 δίφρων κυλισθείς· ὧδ᾽ ὁ μῦθος ἑστάτω.

νὰ δ᾽ ἔξιμεν· καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν ἀνδράσι LA. ἀνδράσιν Γ. μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

ἰώ μοί μοι ἰώ μοί μοί L. ἰώ μοι μοί Α. δύστηνος.

ΠΑ. καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον. 80

ΟΡ. ἆρ᾽ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ηλέκτρα ἠλέκτρα(σ) LL2.; θέλεις μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀνακούσωμεν γόων ;

ΗΛ.

ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὲν δὴ λήξω θρήνων στυγερῶν τε γόων, 105

καί μοι τὸν ἐμὸν πέμψατ᾿ ἀδελφόν. μούνη γὰρ ἄγειν οὐκ ἔτι σωκῶ λύπης ἀντίρροπον ἄχθος. 120

ΧΟΡΟΣ. στρ. α΄.

Ἠλέκτρα ἰώ μοί μοι δύστηνος.

Παιδαγωγός καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον.

Ὀρέστης ἆρʼ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ἠλέκτρα· θέλεις 80 μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀπακούσωμεν γόων;

OR

ELECTRA

(). Woe for my hapless lot!

OLD M Hark! from the doors, my son, methought there came A moaning cry, as of some maid within. 80

OR Can it be poor Electra? Shall we stay, And list again the lamentable sound?

OLD M Not so. Before all else begin the attempt To execute Apollo’s sovereign will, Pouring libation to thy sire: this makes 85 Victory ours, and our success assured.

EL

CH

Orestes.

weh, weh mir! (im Hause)

Der Pfleger. Horch! Innerhalb des Hauses wähnt' ich jammernde Wehklagen einer Dienerin zu hören, Kind.

Orestes. War's nicht Elektra? Meinst du nicht, wir sollten noch 80 Verweilen hier und lauschen ihrem Klageruf?

Der Pfleger. Mit nichten. Nichts geschehe, bis wir Loxias' 8 Gebot erfüllten und zuerst dem Vater dort Sein Todtenopfer brachten; denn das sichert uns Den Sieg, verleiht uns hohe Kraft zur schweren That. 85

Oheiliges Licht 9 (Sie gehen ab. Elektra tritt aus dem Palaste.) (allein)

Der Chor.

Orestes ( V)me then, my friends, and ere th' awakened city

Governor Methought a mournful voice Spake from within. Shall we not stay and hearken to it ? 80

Electra My noble friends and partners in affliction,

Who thus, to soothe my sorrows, kindly try Each art which love and friendship can inspire ; Ye come to comfort me, I know ye do. I know my tears are fruitless all and vain ; 90 But, oh ! permit me to indulge my griefs, For I must weep.

Chorus

Orestes

Electra

O miserable me!

Attendant Some female servant with the voice of grief Methinks I hear lamenting in the house. 80

Orestes Is it not rather poor Electra's voice?

Attendant [within. Wilt thou we stay and listen to her moans? That must not be: no deed may we attempt Ere we perform the mandates of the god. Begin with these; and at thy father's tomb 85 Pour the libations: that will give us strength 85 To act, and conquest to our toils ensure.

Electra

Chorus ELECTRA, CHORUS.

Electra ah, me, ah, joyless me!

Paedagogus Listen, my son; from the doors of the house, I think, came the sound of some serving girl moaning inside.

Orestes Can it be my joyless Electra? Shall we remain here and listen to her cries? 80

Stable identifiers

ἄθλοισι Πυθικοῖσιν ἐκ τροχηλάτων
50

δίφρων κυλισθείς· ὧδ᾽ ὁ μῦθος ἑστάτω.

νὰ δ᾽ ἔξιμεν· καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν ἀνδράσι LA. ἀνδράσιν Γ.

μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης.

ΠΑ.

καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς

ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον.
80

ΟΡ.

ἆρ᾽ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ηλέκτρα ἠλέκτρα(σ) LL2.; θέλεις

μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀνακούσωμεν γόων ;

ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὲν δὴ

λήξω θρήνων στυγερῶν τε γόων,
105

καί μοι τὸν ἐμὸν πέμψατ᾿ ἀδελφόν.

μούνη γὰρ ἄγειν οὐκ ἔτι σωκῶ

λύπης ἀντίρροπον ἄχθος.
120

ΧΟΡΟΣ.
στρ. α΄.

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰώ μοί μοι δύστηνος.

Παιδαγωγός

καὶ μὴν θυρῶν ἔδοξα προσπόλων τινὸς

ὑποστενούσης ἔνδον αἰσθέσθαι, τέκνον.

Ὀρέστης

ἆρʼ ἐστὶν ἡ δύστηνος Ἠλέκτρα· θέλεις
80

μείνωμεν αὐτοῦ κἀπακούσωμεν γόων;

OLD M

Hark! from the doors, my son, methought there came

A moaning cry, as of some maid within.
80

OR

Can it be poor Electra? Shall we stay,

And list again the lamentable sound?

OLD M

Not so. Before all else begin the attempt

To execute Apollo’s sovereign will,

Pouring libation to thy sire: this makes
85

Victory ours, and our success assured.

weh, weh mir!

(im Hause)

Der Pfleger.

Horch! Innerhalb des Hauses wähnt' ich jammernde

Wehklagen einer Dienerin zu hören, Kind.

Orestes.

War's nicht Elektra? Meinst du nicht, wir sollten noch
80

Verweilen hier und lauschen ihrem Klageruf?

Der Pfleger.

Mit nichten. Nichts geschehe, bis wir Loxias'⁸

Gebot erfüllten und zuerst dem Vater dort

Sein Todtenopfer brachten; denn das sichert uns

Den Sieg, verleiht uns hohe Kraft zur schweren That.
85

Oheiliges Licht⁹

(Sie gehen ab. Elektra tritt aus dem Palaste.) (allein)

Orestes
( V)me then, my friends, and ere th' awakened city

Governor

Methought a mournful voice

Spake from within.

Shall we not stay and hearken to it ?
80

Electra

My noble friends and partners in affliction,

Who thus, to soothe my sorrows, kindly try

Each art which love and friendship can inspire ;

Ye come to comfort me, I know ye do.

I know my tears are fruitless all and vain ;
90

But, oh ! permit me to indulge my griefs,

For I must weep.

Attendant

Some female servant with the voice of grief

Methinks I hear lamenting in the house.
80

Orestes

Is it not rather poor Electra's voice?

Attendant
[within.

Wilt thou we stay and listen to her moans?

That must not be: no deed may we attempt

Ere we perform the mandates of the god.

Begin with these; and at thy father's tomb
85

Pour the libations: that will give us strength
85

To act, and conquest to our toils ensure.

Chorus
ELECTRA, CHORUS.

Electra

ah, me, ah, joyless me!

Paedagogus

Listen, my son; from the doors of the house, I think, came the sound of some serving girl moaning inside.

Orestes

Can it be my joyless Electra? Shall we remain here and listen to her cries?
80