410 BC

ELECTRA
by Sophocles

translated by R. C. Jebb
CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY

ORESTES, son of Agamemnon and CLYTEMNESTRA
ELECTRA } sister of ORESTES

CHRYSOTHEMIS} " " "
AN OLD MAN, formerly the PAEDAGOGUS or Attendant Of ORESTES

CLYTEMNESTRA
AEGISTHUS

CHORUS OF WOMEN OF MYCENAE
Mute Persons

PYLADES, son of Strophius, King of Crisa, the friend Of ORESTES.
A handmaid of CLYTEMNESTRA. Two attendants of ORESTES

ELECTRA
ELECTRA

(SCENE:- At Mycenae, before the palace of the Pelopidae. It is morning
and the new-risen sun is bright. The PAEDAGOGUS enters on the left

of the spectators, accompanied by the two youths, ORESTES and
PYLADES.)

PAEDAGOGUS
SON of him who led our hosts at Troy of old, son of Agamemnon!- now

thou mayest behold with thine eyes all that thy soul hath desired so
long. There is the ancient Argos of thy yearning,- that hallowed scene

whence the gadfly drove the daughter of Inachus; and there, Orestes,
is the Lycean Agora, named from the wolf-slaying god; there, on the

left, Hera's famous temple; and in this place to which we have come,
deem that thou seest Mycenae rich in gold, with the house of the

Pelopidae there, so often stained with bloodshed; whence I carried
thee of yore, from the slaying of thy father, as thy kinswoman, thy

sister, charged me; and saved thee, and reared thee up to manhood,
to be the avenger of thy murdered sire.

Now, therefore, Orestes, and thou, best of friends, Pylades, our
plans must be laid quickly; for lo, already the sun's bright ray is

waking the songs of the birds into clearness, and the dark night of
stars is spent. Before, then, anyone comes forth from the house,

take counsel; seeing that the time allows not of delay, but is full
ripe for deeds.

ORESTES
True friend and follower, how well dost thou prove thy loyalty

to our house! As a steed of generous race, though old, loses not
courage in danger, but pricks his ear, even so thou urgest us forward,

and art foremost in our support. I will tell thee, then, what I have
determined; listen closely to my words, and correct me, if I miss

the mark in aught.
When I went to the Pythian oracle, to learn how I might avenge

my father on his murderers, Phoebus gave me the response which thou
art now to hear:- that alone, and by stealth, without aid of arms or

numbers, I should snatch the righteousvengeance of my hand. Since,
then, the god spake to us on this wise, thou must go into yonder

house, when opportunity gives thee entrance, and learn all that is
passing there, so that thou mayest report to us from sure knowledge.

Thine age, and the lapse of time, will prevent them from recognising
thee; they will never suspect who thou art, with that silvered hair.

Let thy tale be that thou art a Phocian stranger, sent by Phanoteus;
for he is the greatest of their allies. Tell them, and confirm it with

thine oath, that Orestes hath perished by a fatal chance,- hurled at
the Pythian games from his rapid chariot; be that the substance of thy

story.
We, meanwhile, will first crown my father's tomb, as the god

enjoined, with drink-offerings and the luxurianttribute of severed
hair; then come back, bearing in our hands an urn of shapely

bronze,-now hidden in the brushwood, as I think thou knowest,- so to
gladden them with the false tidings that this my body is no more,

but has been consumed with fire and turned to ashes. Why should the
omen trouble me, when by a feigned death I find life indeed, and win

renown? I trow, no word is ill-omened, if fraught with gain. Often ere
now have I seen wise men die in vain report; then, when they return

home, they are held in more abiding honour: as I trust that from
this rumour I also shall emerge in radiant life, and yet shine like

a star upon my foes.
O my fatherland, and ye gods of the land, receive me with good

fortune in this journey,- and ye also, halls of my fathers, for I come
with divinemandate to cleanse you righteously; send me not

dishonoured from the land, but grant that I may rule over my
possessions, and restore my house!

Enough;- be it now thy care, old man, to go and heed thy task;
and we twain will go forth; for so occasion bids, chief ruler of every

enterprise for men.
ELECTRA (within)

Ah me, ah me!
PAEDAGOGUS

Hark, my son,- from the doors, methought, came the sound of some
handmaid moaning within.

ORESTES
Can it be the hapless Electra? Shall we stay here, and listen to

her laments?
PAEDAGOGUS

No, no: before all else, let us seek to obey the command of
Loxias, and thence make a fair beginning, by pouring libations to

thy sire; that brings victory within our grasp, and gives us the
mastery in all that we do.

(Exeunt PAEDAGOGUS on the spectators' left, ORESTES and PYLADES
the right.- Enter ELECTRA, from the house. She is meanly clad.)

ELECTRA (chanting)
systema

O thou pure sunlight, and thou air, earth's canopy, how often have
ye heard the strains of my lament, the wild blows dealt against this

bleeding breast, when dark night fails! And my wretched couch in
yonder house of woe knows well, ere now, how I keep the watches of the

night,- how often I bewail my hapless sire; to whom deadly Ares gave
not of his gifts in a strange land, but my mother, and her mate

Aegisthus, cleft his head with murderous axe, as woodmen fell an
oak. And for this no plaint bursts from any lip save mine, when

thou, my father, hath died a death so cruel and so piteous!
antisystema

But never will I cease from dirge and sore lament, while I look on
the trembling rays of the bright stars, or on this light of day; but

like the nightingale, slayer of her offspring, I will wail without
ceasing, and cry aloud to all, here, at the doors of my father.

O home of Hades and Persephone! O Hermes of the shades! potent
Curse, and ye, dread daughters of the gods, Erinyes,- Ye who behold

when a life is reft by violence, when a bed is dishonoured by
stealth,- come, help me, avenge the murder of my sire,- and send to me

my brother; for I have no more the strength to bear up alone against
the load of grief that weighs me down.

(As ELECTRA finishes her lament,
the CHORUS OF WOMEN OF MYCENAE enter. The following

lines between ELECTRA and the CHORUS are chanted responsively.)
CHORUS

strophe 1
Ah, Electra, child of a wretched mother, why art thou ever

pining thus in ceaselesslament for Agamemnon, who long ago was
wickedly ensnared by thy false mother's wiles, and betrayed to death

by dastardly hand? Perish the author of that deed, if I may utter such
prayer!

ELECTRA
Ah, noble-hearted maidens, ye have come to soothe my woes. I

know and feel it, it escapes me not; but I cannot leave this task
undone, or cease from mourning for my hapless sire. Ah, friends