Iphigenia at Aulis , Euripides

 

 

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410 BC
IPHIGENIA AT AULIS
by Euripides
Characters in the Play

Agamemnon
Attendant, an old man
Chorus of Women of Chalcis
Menelaus
Clytaemnestra
Iphigenia
Achilles
Messenger

The sea-coast at Aulis. Enter AGAMEMNON and ATTENDANT.

Agamemnon.
Old man, come hither and stand before my dwelling.
Attendant.
I come; what new schemes now, king Agamemnon?
AGAMEMNON
Thou shalt hear.
ATTENDANT
I am all eagerness. 'Tis little enough sleep old age allows me and
keenly it watches o'er my eyes.
AGAMEMNON
What can that star be, steering his course yonder?
ATTENDANT
Sirius, still shooting o'er the zenith on his way near the
Pleiads' sevenfold track.
AGAMEMNON
The birds are still at any rate and the sea is calm; hushed are
the winds, and silence broods o'er this narrow firth.
ATTENDANT
Then why art thou outside thy tent, why so restless, my lord
Agamemnon? All is yet quiet here in Aulis, the watch on the walls is
not yet astir. Let us go in.
AGAMEMNON
I envy thee, old man, aye, and every man who leads a life
secure, unknown and unrenowned; but little I envy those in office.
ATTENDANT
And yet 'tis there we place the be-all and end-all of existence.
AGAMEMNON
Aye, but that is where the danger comes; and ambition, sweet
though it seems, brings sorrow with its near approach. At one time the
unsatisfied claims of Heaven upset our life, at another the numerous
peevish fancies of our subjects shatter it.
ATTENDANT
I like not these sentiments in one who is a chief. It was not to
enjoy all blessings that Atreus begot thee, O Agamemnon; but thou must
needs experience joy and sorrow alike, mortal as thou art. E'en though
thou like it not, this is what the gods decree; but thou, after
letting thy taper spread its light abroad, writest the letter which is
still in thy hands and then erasest the same words again, sealing
and re-opening the scroll, then flinging the tablet to the ground with
floods of tears and leaving nothing undone in thy aimless behaviour to
stamp thee mad. What is it troubles thee? what news is there affecting
thee, my liege? Come, share with me thy story; to a loyal and trusty
heart wilt thou be telling it; for Tyndareus sent me that day to
form part of thy wife's dowry and to wait upon the bride with loyalty.
AGAMEMNON
Leda, the daughter of Thestius, had three children, maidens,
Phoebe, Clytaemnestra my wife, and Helen; this last it was who had for
wooers the foremost of the favoured sons of Hellas; but terrible
threats of spilling his rival's blood were uttered by each of them,
should he fail to win the maid. Now the matter filled Tyndareus, her
father, with perplexity; at length this thought occurred to him; the
suitors should swear unto each other and join right hands thereon
and pour libations with burnt sacrifice, binding themselves by this
curse, "Whoever wins the child of Tyndareus for wife, him will we
assist, in case a rival takes her from his house and goes his way,
robbing her husband of his rights; and we will march against that
man in armed array and raze his city to the ground, Hellene no less
than barbarian."
Now when they had once pledged their word and old Tyndareus with
no small cleverness had beguiled them by his shrewd device, he allowed
his daughter to choose from among her suitors the one towards whom the
breath of love might fondly waft her. Her choice fell on Menelaus;
would she had never taken him! Anon there came to Lacedaemon from
Phrygia's folk the man who, legend says, adjudged the goddesses'
dispute; in robes of gorgeous hue, ablaze with gold, in true
barbaric pomp; and he, finding Menelaus gone from home, carried
Helen off with him to his steading on Ida, a willing paramour.
Goaded to frenzy Menelaus flew through Hellas, invoking the ancient
oath exacted by Tyndareus and declaring the duty of helping the
injured husband. Whereat the chivalry of Hellas, brandishing their
spears and donning their harness, came hither to the narrow straits of
Aulis with armaments of ships and troops, with many a steed and many a
car, and they chose me to captain them all for the sake of Menelaus,
since I was his brother. Would that some other had gained that
distinction instead of me! But after the army was gathered and come
together, we still remained at Aulis weather-bound; and Calchas, the
seer, bade us in our perplexity sacrifice my own begotten child
Iphigenia to Artemis, whose home is in this land, declaring that if we
offered her, we should sail and sack the Phrygians' capital, but if we
forbore, this was not for us. When I heard this, I commanded
Talthybius with loud proclamation to disband the whole host, as I
could never bear to slay daughter of mine. Whereupon my brother,
bringing every argument to bear, persuaded me at last to face the
crime; so I wrote in a folded scroll and sent to my wife, bidding
her despatch our daughter to me on the pretence of wedding Achilles,
it the same time magnifying his exalted rank and saying that he
refused to sail with the Achaeans, unless a bride of our lineage
should go to Phthia. Yes, this was the inducement I offered my wife,
inventing, as I did, a sham marriage for the maiden. Of all the
Achaeans we alone know the real truth, Calchas, Odysseus, Menelaus and
myself; but that which I then decided wrongly, I now rightly
countermand again in this scroll, which thou, old man, hast found me
opening and resealing beneath the shade of night. Up now and away with
this missive to Argos, and I will tell thee by word of mouth all
that is written herein, the contents of the folded scroll, for thou
art loyal to my wife and house.
ATTENDANT
Say on and make it plain, that what my tongue utters may accord
with what thou hast written.
AGAMEMNON
"Daughter of Leda, in addition to my first letter I now send
thee word not to despatch thy daughter to Euboea's embosomed wing,
to the to the waveless bay of Aulis; for after all we wiltlelebrate
our child's wedding at another time."
ATTENDANT
And how will Achilles, cheated of his bride, curb the fury of
his indignation against thee and thy wife?
AGAMEMNON
Here also is a danger.
ATTENDANT
Tell me what thou meanest.
AGAMEMNON
It is but his name, not himself, that Achilles is lending, knowing
nothing of the marriage or of my scheming or my professed readiness to
betroth my daughter to him for a husband's embrace.
ATTENDANT
A dreadful venture thine king Agamemnon! thou that, by promise
of thy daughter's hand to the son of the goddess, wert for bringing
the maid hither to be sacrificed for the Danai.
AGAMEMNON
Woe is me! ah woe! I am utterly distraught; bewilderment comes
o'er me. Away hurry thy steps, yielding nothing to old age.
ATTENDANT
In haste I go, my liege.
AGAMEMNON
Sit not down by woodland founts; scorn the witcheries of sleep.
ATTENDANT
Hush!
AGAMEMNON
And when thou passest any place where roads diverge, cast thine
eyes all round,-taking heed that no mule-wain pass by on rolling
wheels, bearing my daughter hither to the ships of the Danai, and thou
see it not.
ATTENDANT
It shall be so.
AGAMEMNON
Start then from the bolted gates, and if thou meet the escort,
start them back again, and drive at full speed to the abodes of the
Cyclopes.
ATTENDANT
But tell me, how shall my message find credit with thy wife or
child?
AGAMEMNON
Preserve the seal which thou bearest on this scroll. Away! already
the dawn is growing grey, lighting the lamp of day yonder and the fire
of the sun's four steeds; help me in my trouble.

Exit ATTENDANT.

None of mortals is prosperous or happy to the last, for none was
ever born to a painless life.

Exit AGAMEMNON.

Enter CHORUS OF WOMEN OF CHALCIS.

CHORUS
To the sandy beach of sea-coast Aulis I came after a voyage
through the tides of Euripus, leaving Chalcis on its narrow firth,
my city which feedeth the waters of far-famed Arethusa near the sea,
that I might behold the army of the Achaeans and the ships rowed by
those god-like heroes; for our husbands tell us that fair-haired
Menelaus and high-born Agamemnon are leading them to Troy on a
thousand ships in quest of the lady Helen, whom herdsman Paris carried
off from the banks of reedy Eurotas-his guerdon from Aphrodite, when
that queen of Cyprus entered beauty's lists with Hera and Pallas at
the gushing fount.
Through the grove of-Artemis, rich with sacrifice, I sped my
course, the red blush mantling on my cheeks from maiden modesty, in my
eagerness to see the soldiers' camp, the tents of the mail-clad Danai,
and their gathered steeds. Two chieftains there I saw met together
in council; one was Aias, son of Oileus; the other Aias, son of
Telamon, crown of glory to the men of Salamis; and I saw Protesilaus
and Palamedes, sprung from the son of Poseidon, sitting there
amusing themselves with intricate figures at draughts; Diomedes too at
his favourite sport of hurling quoits; and Meriones, the War-god's
son, a marvel to mankind, stood at his side; likewise I beheld the
offspring of Laertes, who came from his island hills, and with him
Nireus, handsomest of all Achaeans; Achilles next, that nimble runner,
swift on his feet as the wind, whom Thetis bore and Chiron trained;
him I saw upon the beach, racing in full armour along the shingle
and straining every nerve to beat a team of four horses, as he sped
round the track on foot; and Eumelus, the grandson of Pheres, their
driver, was shouting when I saw him. goading on his goodly steeds,
with their bits of chased goldwork; whereof the centre pair, that bore
the yoke, had dappled coats picked out with white, while the
trace-horses, on the outside, facing the turning-post in the course,
were bays with spotted fetlocks. Close beside them Peleus' son leapt
on his way, in all his harness, keeping abreast the rail by the
axle-box.
Next I sought the countless fleet, a wonder to behold, that I
might fill my girlish eyes with gazing, a sweet delight. 'the
warlike Myrmidons from Phthia held the right wing with fifty swift
cruisers, upon whose sterns, right at the ends, stood Nereid goddesses
in golden-effigy, the ensign of Achilles' armament. Near these were
moored the Argive ships in equal numbers, o'er which Mecisteus' son,
whom Taulaus his grandsire reared, and Sthenelus, son of Capaneus,
were in command; next in order, Theseus' son was stationed at the head
of sixty ships from Attica, having the goddess Pallas set in a
winged car drawn by steeds with solid hoof, a lucky sight for
mariners. Then I saw Boeotia's fleet of fifty sails decked with
ensigns; these had Cadmus at the stern holding a golden dragon at
the beaks of the vessels, and earth-born Leitus was their admiral.
Likewise there were ships from Phocis; and from Locris came the son of
Oileus with an equal contingent, leaving famed Thronium's citadel; and
from Mycenae, the Cyclopes' town, Atreus' son sent a hundred
wellmanned galleys, his brother being with him in command, as friend
with friend, that Hellas might exact on her, who had fled her home
to wed a foreigner. Also I saw upon Gerenian Nestor's prows twelve
from Pylos the sign of his neighbor Alpheus, four-footed like a
bull. Moreover there was a squadron of Aenianian sail under King and
next the lords of Elis, stationed near'-them, whom all the people
named Epeians; and Eurytus was lord of these; likewise he led the
Taphian warriors with the white oar-blades, the subjects of Meges, son
of Phyleus, who had left the isles of the Echinades, where sailors
cannot land. Lastly, Aias, reared in Salamis, was joining his right
wing to the left of those near whom he was posted, closing the line
with his outermost ships-twelve barques obedient to the helm-as I
heard and then saw the crews; no safe return shall he obtain, who
bringeth his barbaric boats to grapple Aias. There I saw the naval
armament, but some things I heard at home about the gathered host,
whereof I still have a recollection.

Enter MENELAUS and ATTENDANT.

ATTENDANT (As MENELAUS wrests a letter from him)
Strange daring thine, Menelaus, where thou hast no right.
MENELAUS
Stand back! thou carriest loyalty to thy master too far.
ATTENDANT
The very reproach thou hast for me is to my credit.
MENELAUS
Thou shalt rue it, if thou meddle in matters that concern thee
not.
ATTENDANT
Thou hadst no right to open a letter, which I was carrying.
MENELAUS
No, nor thou to be carrying sorrow to all Hellas.
ATTENDANT
Argue that point with others, but surrender that letter to me.
MENELAUS
I shall not let go.
ATTENDANT
Nor yet will I let loose my hold.
MENELAUS
Why then, this staff of mine will be dabbling thy head with
blood ere long.
ATTENDANT
To die in my master's cause were a noble death.
MENELAUS
Let go! thou art too wordy for a slave.
ATTENDANT (Seeing AGAMEMNON approaching)
Master, he is wronging me; he snatched thy letter violently from
my grasp, Agamemnon, and will not heed the claims of right.

Enter AGAMEMNON.

AGAMEMNON
How now? what means this uproar at the gates, this indecent
brawling?
MENELAUS
My tale, not his, has the better right to be spoken.
AGAMEMNON
Thou, Menelaus! what quarrel hast thou with this man, why art thou
haling him hence?

Exit ATTENDANT.

MENELAUS
Look me in the face! Be that the prelude to my story.
AGAMEMNON
Shall I, the son of Atreus, close my eyes from fear?
MENELAUS
Seest thou this scroll, the bearer of a shameful message?
AGAMEMNON
I see it, yes; and first of all surrender it.
MENELAUS
No, not till I have shewn its contents to all the Danai.
AGAMEMNON
What! hast thou broken the seal and dost know already what thou
shouldst never have known?
MENELAUS
Yes, I opened it and know to thy sorrow the secret machinations of
thy heart.
AGAMEMNON
Where didst thou catch my servant? Ye gods what a shameless
heart thou hast!
MENELAUS
I was awaiting thy daughter's arrival at the camp from Argos.
AGAMEMNON
What right hast thou to watch my doings? Is not this a of
shamelessness?
MENELAUS
My wish to do it gave the spur, for I am no slave to thee.
AGAMEMNON
Infamous! Am I not to be allowed the management of my own house?
MENELAUS
No, for thou thinkest crooked thoughts, one thing now, another
formerly, and something different presently.
AGAMEMNON
Most exquisite refining on evil themes! A hateful thing the tongue
of cleverness!
MENELAUS
Aye, but a mind unstable is an unjust possession, disloyal to
friends. Now I am anxious to test thee, and seek not thou from rage to
turn aside from the truth, nor will I on my part overstrain the
case. Thou rememberest when thou wert all eagerness to captain the
Danai against Troy, making a pretence of declining, though eager for
it in thy heart; how humble thou wert then! taking each man by the
hand and keeping open doors for every fellow townsman who cared to
enter, affording each in turn a chance to speak with thee, even though
some desired it not, seeking by these methods to purchase popularity
from all bidders; then when thou hadst secured the command, there came
a change over thy manners; thou wert no longer so cordial before to
whilom friends, but hard of access, seldom to be found at home. But
the man of real worth ought not to change his manners in the hour of
prosperity, but should then show himself most staunch to friends, when
his own good fortune can help them most effectually. This was the
first cause I had to reprove thee, for it was here I first
discovered thy villainy; but afterwards, when thou camest to Aulis
with all the gathered hosts of Hellas, thou wert of no account; no!
the want of a favourable breeze filled thee with consternation at
the chance dealt out by Heaven. Anon the Danai began demanding that
thou shouldst send the fleet away instead of vainly toiling on at
Aulis; what dismay and confusion was then depicted in thy looks, to
think that thou, with a thousand ships at thy command, hadst not
occupied the plains of Priam with thy armies! And thou wouldst ask
my counsel, "What am I to do? what scheme can I devise. where find
one?" to save thyself being stripped of thy command and losing thy
fair fame. Next when Calchas bade thee offer thy daughter in sacrifice
to Artemis, declaring that the Danai should then sail, thou wert
overjoyed, and didst gladly undertake to offer the maid, and of
thine own accord-never allege compulsion!-thou art sending word to thy
wife to despatch thy daughter hither on pretence of wedding
Achilles. This is the same air that heard thee say it; and after all
thou turnest round and hast been caught recasting thy letter to this
effect, "I will no longer be my daughter's murderer." Exactly so!
Countless others have gone through this phase in their conduct of
public affairs; they make an effort while in power, and then retire
dishonourably, sometimes owing to the senselessness of the citizens,
sometimes deservedly, because they are too feeble of themselves to
maintain their watch upon the state. For my part, I am more sorry
for our unhappy Hellas, whose purpose was to read these worthless
foreigners a lesson, while now she will let them escape and mock
her, thanks to thee and thy daughter. May I never then appoint a man
to rule my country or lead its warriors because his kinship! Ability
what the general must have; since any man, with ordinary intelligence,
can govern a state.
CHORUS
For brethren to come to words and blows, whene'er they disagree,
is terrible.
AGAMEMNON
I wish to rebuke thee in turn, briefly, not lifting mine eyes
too high in shameless wise, but in more sober fashion, as a brother;
for it is a good man's way to be considerate. Prithee, why this
burst of fury, these bloodshot eyes? who wrongs thee? what is it
thou wantest? Thou art fain to win a virtuous bride. Well, I cannot
supply thee; for she, whom thou once hadst, was ill controlled by
thee. Am I then, a man who never went astray, to suffer for thy
sins? or is it my popularity that galls thee? No! it is the longing
thou hast to keep a fair wife in thy embrace, casting reason and
honour to the winds. A bad man's pleasures are like himself Am I
mad, if I change to wiser counsels, after previously deciding amiss?
Thine is the madness rather in wishing to recover a wicked wife,
once thou hadst lost her-a stroke of Heaven-sent luck. Those foolish
suitors swore that oath to Tyndareus in their longing to wed; but Hope
was the goddess that led them on, I trow, and she it was that
brought it about rather then thou and thy mightiness. So take the
field with them; they are ready for it in the folly of their hearts;
for the deity is not without insight, but is able to discern where
oaths have been wrongly pledged or forcibly extorted. I will not
slay my children, nor shall thy interests be prospered by justice in
thy vengeance for a worthless wife, while I am left wasting, night and
day, in sorrow for what I did to one of my own flesh and blood,
contrary to all law and justice. There is thy answer shortly' given,
clear and easy to understand; and if thou wilt not come to thy senses,
I shall do the best for myself.
CHORUS
This differs from thy previous declaration, but there is good in
it-thy child's reprieve.
MENELAUS
Ah me, how sad my lot! I have no friends then after all.
AGAMEMNON
Friends thou hast, if thou seek not their destruction.
MENELAUS
Where wilt thou find any proof that thou art sprung from the
same sire as I?
AGAMEMNON
Thy moderation, not thy madness do I share by nature.
MENELAUS
Friends should sympathize with friends in sorrow.
AGAMEMNON
Claim my help by kindly service, not by paining me.
MENELAUS
So thou hast no mind to share this trouble with Hellas?
AGAMEMNON
No, Hellas is diseased like thee according to some god's design.
MENELAUS
Go vaunt thee then on thy sceptre, after betraying thine own
brother! while seek some different means and other friends.

Enter MESSENGER.

MESSENGER
Agamemnon, lord of all Hellenes! I am come and bring thee thy
daughter, whom thou didst call Iphigenia in thy home; and her
mother, thy wife Clytemnestra, is with her, and the child Orestes, a
sight to gladden thee after thy long absence from thy palace; but,
as they had been travelling long and far, they are now refreshing
their tender feet at the waters of a fair spring, they and their
horses, for we turned these loose in the grassy meadow to browse their
fill; but I am come as their forerunner to prepare thee for their
reception; for the army knows already of thy daughter's arrival, so
quickly did the rumour spread; and all the folk are running together
to the sight, that they may see thy child; for Fortune's favourites
enjoy a worldwide fame and have all eyes fixed on them. "Is it a
wedding?" some ask, "or what is happening? or has king Agamemnon
from fond yearning summoned his daughter hither?" From others thou
wouldst have heard: "They are presenting the maiden to Artemis,
queen of Aulis, previous to marriage; who can the bridegroom be,
that is to lead her home?"
Come, then, begin the rites-that is the next step-by getting the
baskets ready; crown your heads; prepare the wedding-hymn, thou and
prince Menelaus with thee; let flutes resound throughout the tents
with noise of dancer's feet; for this is a happy day, that is come for
the maid.
AGAMEMNON
Thou hast my thanks; now go within; for the rest it will be
well, as Fate proceeds.

Exit MESSENGER.

Ah, woe is me! unhappy wretch, what can I say? where shall I
begin? Into what cruel straits have I been plunged! Fortune has
outwitted me, proving far cleverer than any cunning of mine. What an
advantage humble birth possesses! for it is easy for her sons to
weep and tell out all their sorrows; while to the high-born man come
these same sorrows, but we have dignity throned o'er our life and
are the people's slaves. I, for instance, am ashamed to weep, nor
less, poor wretch, to check my tears at the awful pass to which I am
brought. Oh! what am I to tell my wife? how shall I welcome her?
with what face meet her? for she too has undone me by coming uninvited
in this my hour of sorrow; yet it was but natural she should come with
her daughter to prepare the bride and perform the fondest duties,
where she will discover my villainy. And for this poor maid-why
maid? Death, methinks, will soon make her his bride-how I pity her!
Thus will she plead to me, I trow: "My father will thou slay me? Be
such the wedding thou thyself mayst find, and whosoever is a friend to
thee!" while Orestes, from his station near us, will cry in childish
accents, inarticulate, yet fraught with meaning. Alas! to what utter
ruin Paris, the son of Priam, the cause of these troubles, has brought
me by his union with Helen!
CHORUS
I pity her myself, in such wise as a woman, and she a stranger,
may bemoan the misfortunes of royalty.
MENELAUS (Offering his hand)
Thy hand, brother! let me grasp it.
AGAMEMNON
I give it; thine is the victory, mine the sorrow.
MENELAUS
By Pelops our reputed grandsire and Atreus our father I swear to
tell thee the truth from my heart, without any covert purpose, but
only what I think. The sight of thee in tears made me pity thee, and
in return I shed a tear for thee myself; I withdraw from my former
proposals, ceasing to be a cause of fear to thee; yea, and I will
put myself in thy present position; and I counsel thee, slay not thy
child nor prefer my interests to thine; for it is not just that thou
shouldst grieve, while I am glad, or that thy children should die,
while mine still see the light of day. What is it, after all, I
seek? If I am set on marriage, could I not find a bride as choice
elsewhere? Was I to lose a brother-the last I should have lost-to
win a Helen, getting bad for good? I was mad, impetuous as a youth,
till I perceived, on closer view, what slaying children really
meant. Moreover I am filled with compassion for the hapless maiden,
doomed to bleed that I may wed, when I reflect that we are kin. What
has thy daughter to do with Helen? Let the army be disbanded and leave
Aulis; dry those streaming eyes, brother, and provoke me not to tears.
Whatever concern thou hast in oracles that affect thy child, let it be
none of mine; into thy hands I resign my share therein. A sudden
change, thou'lt say, from my fell proposals! A natural course for
me; affection for my brother caused the change. These are the ways
of a man not void of virtue, to pursue on each occasion what is best.
CHORUS
A generous speech, worthy of Tantalus, the son of Zeus! Thou
dost not shame thy ancestry.
AGAMEMNON
I thank thee, Menelaus, for this unexpected suggestion; 'tis an
honourable proposal, worthy of thee.
MENELAUS
Sometimes love, sometimes the selfishness of their families causes
a quarrel between brothers; I loathe a relationship of this kind which
is bitterness to both.
AGAMEMNON
'Tis useless, for circumstances compel me to carry out the
murderous sacrifice of my daughter.
MENELAUS
How so? who will compel thee to slay thine own child?
AGAMEMNON
The whole Achaean army here assembled.
MENELAUS
Not if thou send her back to Argos.
AGAMEMNON
I might do that unnoticed, but there will be another thing I
cannot.
MENELAUS
What is that? Thou must not fear the mob too much.
AGAMEMNON
Calchas will tell the Argive host his oracles.
MENELAUS
Not if he be killed ere that-an easy matter.
AGAMEMNON
The whole tribe of seers is a curse with its ambition.
MENELAUS
Yes, and good for nothing and useless, when amongst us.
AGAMEMNON
Has the thought, which is rising in my mind, no terrors for thee?
MENELAUS
How can I understand thy meaning, unless thou declare it?
AGAMEMNON
The son of Sisyphus knows all.
MENELAUS
Odysseus cannot possibly hurt us.
AGAMEMNON
He was ever shifty by nature, siding with the mob.
MENELAUS
True, he is enslaved by the love of popularity, a fearful evil.
AGAMEMNON
Bethink thee then, will he not arise among the Argives and tell
them the oracles that Calchas delivered, saying of me that I undertook
to offer Artemis a victim, and after all am proving false? Then,
when he has carried the army away with him, he will bid the Argives
slay us and sacrifice the maiden; and if I escape to Argos, they
will come and destroy the place, razing it to the ground, Cyclopean
walls and all. That is my trouble. Woe is me! to what straits Heaven
has brought me at this pass! Take one precaution for me, Menelaus,
as thou goest through the host, that Clytemnestra learn this not, till
I have taken my child and devoted her to death, that my affliction may
be attended with the fewest tears. (Turning to the CHORUS) And you, ye
stranger dames, keep silence.

Exeunt AGAMEMNON and MENELAUS.

CHORUS
Happy they who find the goddess come in moderate might, sharing
with self-restraint in Aphrodite's gift of marriage and enjoying
calm and rest from frenzied passions, wilerein the Love-god,
golden-haired, stretches his charmed bow with arrows twain, and one is
aimed at happiness, the other at life's confusion. O lady Cypris,
queen of beauty! far from my bridal bower I ban the last. Be mine
delight in moderation and pure desires, and may I have a share in
love, but shun excess therein
Men's natures vary, and their habits differ, but true virtue is
always manifest. Likewise the training that comes of education
conduces greatly to virtue; for not only is modesty wisdom, but it has
also the rare grace of seeing by its better judgment what is right;
whereby glory, ever young, is shed o'er life by reputation. A great
thing it is to follow virtue's footsteps-for women in their secret
loves; while in men again an inborn sense of order, shown in countless
ways, adds to a city's greatness.
Thou camest, O Paris, to the place where thou wert reared to
herd the kine amid the white heifers of Ida, piping in foreign
strain and breathing on thy reeds an echo of the Phrygian airs Olympus
played. Full-uddered cows were browsing at the spot where that verdict
'twixt goddesses was awaiting thee the cause of thy going to Hellas to
stand before the ivory palace, kindling love in Helen's tranced eyes
and feeling its flutter in thine own breast; whence the fiend of
strife brought Hellas with her chivalry and ships to the towers of
Troy.
Oh! great is the bliss the great enjoy. Behold Iphigenia, the
king's royal child, and Clytaemnestra, the daughter of Tyndareus;
how proud their lineage! how high their pinnacle of fortune! These
mighty ones, whom wealth attends, are very gods in the eyes of less
favoured folk.
Halt we here, maidens of Chalcis, and lift the queen from her
chariot to the ground without stumbling, supporting her gently in
our arms, with kind intent, that the renowned daughter of Agamemnon
but just arrived may feel no fear; strangers ourselves, avoid we aught
that may disturb or frighten the strangers from Argos.

Enter CLYTAEMNESTRA and IPHIGENIA.

CLYTAEMNESTRA
I take this as a lucky omen, thy kindness and auspicious greeting,
and have good hope that it is to a happy marriage I conduct the bride.
(To Attendants) Take from the chariot the dowry I am bringing for my
daughter and convey it within with careful heed.
My daughter, leave the horse-drawn car, planting thy faltering
footstep delicately. (To the CHORUS) Maidens, take her in your arms
and lift her from the chariot, and let one of you give me the
support of her hand, that I may quit my seat in the carriage with
fitting grace.
Some or you stand at the horses' heads; for the horse has a
timid eye, easily frightened; here take this child Orestes, son of
Agamemnon, babe as he still is.
What! sleeping, little one, tired out by thy ride in the
chariot? Awake to bless thy sister's wedding; for thou, my gallant
boy, shalt get by this marriage a kinsman gallant as thyself, the
Nereid's godlike offspring. Come hither to thy mother, my daughter,
Iphigenia, and seat thyself beside me, and stationed near show my
happiness to these strangers; yes, come hither and welcome the sire
thou lovest so dearly.
Hail! my honoured lord, king Agamemnon! we have obeyed thy
commands and are come.

Enter AGAMEMNON.

IPHIGENIA (Throwing herself into AGAMEMNON'S arms)
Be not wroth with me, mother, if I run from thy side and throw
myself on my father's breast.
O my father! I long to outrun others and embrace thee after this
long while; for I yearn to see thy face; be not wroth with me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Thou mayst do so, daughter; for of all the children I have born,
thou hast ever loved thy father best.
IPHIGENIA
I see thee, father, joyfully after a long season.
AGAMEMNON
And I thy father thee; thy words do equal duty for both of us.
IPHIGENIA
All hail, father! thou didst well in bringing me hither to thee.
AGAMEMNON
I know not how I am to say yes or no to that, my child.
IPHIGENIA
Ha! how wildly thou art looking, spite of thy joy at seeing me.
AGAMEMNON
A man has many cares when he is king and general too.
IPHIGENIA
Be mine, all mine to-day; turn not unto moody thoughts.
AGAMEMNON
Why so I am, all thine to-day; I have no other thought.
IPHIGENIA
Then smooth thy knitted brow, unbend and smile.
AGAMEMNON
Lo! my child, my joy at seeing thee is even as it is.
IPHIGENIA
And hast thou then the tear-drop streaming from thy eyes?
AGAMEMNON
Ave, for long is the absence from each other, that awalts us.
IPHIGENIA
I know not, dear father mine, I know not of what thou art
speaking.
AGAMEMNON
Thou art moving my pity all the more by speaking so sensibly.
IPHIGENIA
My words shall turn to senselessness, if that will cheer thee
more.
AGAMEMNON (Aside)
Ah, woe is me! this silence is too much. (To IPHIGENIA) Thou
hast my thanks.
IPHIGENIA
Stay with thy children at home, father.
AGAMEMNON
My own wish! but to my sorrow I may not humour it.
IPHIGENIA
Ruin seize their warring and the woes of Menelaus!
AGAMEMNON
First will that, which has been my life-long ruin, bring ruin unto
others.
IPHIGENIA
How long thou wert absent in the bays of Aulis!
AGAMEMNON
Aye, and there is still a hindrance to my sending the army
forward.
IPHIGENIA
Where do men say the Phrygians live, father?
AGAMEMNON
In a land where I would Paris, the son of Priam, ne'er had dwelt.
IPHIGENIA
'Tis a long voyage thou art bound on, father, after thou leavest
me.
AGAMEMNON
Thou wilt meet thy father again, my daughter.
IPHIGENIA
Ah! would it were seemly that thou shouldst take me as a
fellow-voyager!
AGAMEMNON
Thou too hast a voyage to make to a haven where thou wilt remember
thy father.
IPHIGENIA
Shall I sail thither with my mother or alone?
AGAMEMNON
All alone, without father or mother.
IPHIGENIA
What! hast thou found me a new home, father!
AGAMEMNON
Enough of this! 'tis not for girls to know such things.
IPHIGENIA
Speed home from Troy, I pray thee, father, as soon as thou hast
triumphed there.
AGAMEMNON
There is a sacrifice have first to offer here.
IPHIGENIA
Yea, 'tis thy duty to heed religion with aid of holy rites.
AGAMEMNON
Thou wilt witness it, for thou wilt be standing near the laver.
IPHIGENIA
Am I to lead the dance then round the altar, father?
AGAMEMNON (Aside)
I count thee happier than myself because thou knowest nothing. (To
IPHIGENIA) Go within into the presence of maidens, after thou hast
given me thy hand and one sad kiss, on the eve of thy lengthy
sojourn far from thy father's side.
Bosom, cheek, and golden hair! ah, how grievous ye have found
Helen and the Phrygians' city! I can no more; the tears come welling
to my eyes, the moment I touch thee.
Exit IPHIGENIA.

(Turning to CLYTAEMNESTRA) Herein I crave thy pardon, daughter
of Leda, if I showed excessive grief at the thought of resigning my
daughter to Achilles; for though we are sending her to taste of bliss,
still it wrings a parent's heart, when he, the father who has toiled
so hard for them, commits his children to the homes of strangers.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I am not so void of sense; bethink thee, I shall go through this
as well, when I lead the maiden from the chamber to the sound of the
marriage-hymn; wherefore I chide thee not; but custom will combine
with time to make the smart grow less.
As touching him, to whom thou hast betrothed our daughter, I
know his name, 'tis true, but would fain learn his lineage and the
land of his birth.
AGAMEMNON
There was one Aegina, the daughter of Asopus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Who wedded her? some mortal or a god?
AGAMEMNON
Zeus, and she bare Aeacus, the prince of Cenone.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What son of Aeacus secured his father's halls?
AGAMEMNON
Peleus, who wedded the daughter of Nereus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
With the god's consent, or when he had taken her in spite of gods?
AGAMEMNON
Zeus betrothed her, and her guardian gave consent.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Where did he marry her? amid the billows of the sea?
AGAMEMNON
In Chiron's home, at sacred Pelion's foot.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What! the abode ascribed to the race of Centaurs?
AGAMEMNON
It was there the gods celebrated the marriage feast of Peleus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Did Thetis or his father train Achilles?
AGAMEMNON
Chiron brought him up, to prevent his learning the ways of the
wicked.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ah wise the teacher, still wiser the father, who intrusted his son
to such hands.
AGAMEMNON
Such is the future husband of thy daughter.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
A blameless lord; but what city in Hellas is his?
AGAMEMNON
He dwells on the banks of the river Apidanus, in the borders of
Phthia.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wilt thou convey our daughter thither?
AGAMEMNON
He who takes her to himself will see to that.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Happiness attend the pair! Which day will he marry her?
AGAMEMNON
As soon as the full moon comes to give its blessing.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Hast thou already offered the goddess a sacrifice to usher in
the maiden's marriage?
AGAMEMNON
I am about to do so; that is the very thing I was engaged in.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wilt thou celebrate the marriage-feast thereafter?
AGAMEMNON
Yes, when I have offered a sacrifice required by Heaven of me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
But where am I to make ready the feast for the women?
AGAMEMNON
Here beside our gallant Argive ships.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Finely here! but still I must; good come of it for all that!
AGAMEMNON
I will tell thee, lady, what to do; so obey me now.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wherein? for I was ever wont to yield thee obedience.
AGAMEMNON
Here, where the bridegroom is, will!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Which of my duties will ye perform in the mother's absence?
AGAMEMNON
Give thy child away with help of Danai.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
And where am I to be the while?
AGAMEMNON
Get thee to Argos, and take care of thy unwedded daughters.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
And leave my child? Then who will raise her bridal torch?
AGAMEMNON
I will provide the proper wedding torch.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
That is not the custom; but thou thinkest lightly of these things.
AGAMEMNON
It is not good thou shouldst be alone among a soldier-crowd.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
It is good that a mother should give her own child away.
AGAMEMNON
Aye, and that those maidens at home should not be left alone.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
They are in safe keeping, pent in their maiden-bowers.
AGAMEMNON
Obey.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Nay, by the goddess-queen of Argos! go, manage matters out of
doors; but in the house it is my place to decide what is proper for
maidens at their wedding. Exit.
AGAMEMNON
Woe is me! my efforts are baffled; I am disappointed in my hope,
anxious as I was to get my wife out of sight; foiled at every point, I
form my plots and subtle schemes against my best-beloved. But I will
go, in spite of all, with Calchas the priest, to inquire the goddess's
good pleasure, fraught with ill-luck as it is to me, and with
trouble to Hellas. He who is wise should keep in his house a good
and useful wife or none at all.
Exit.

CHORUS
They say the Hellenes' gathered host will come in arms aboard
their ships to Simois with its silver eddies, even to Ilium, the plain
of Troy beloved by Phoebus; where famed Cassandra, I am told, whene'er
the god's resistless prophecies inspire her, wildly tosses her
golden tresses, wreathed with crown of verdant bay. And on the
towers of Troy and round her walls shall Trojans stand, when sea-borne
troops with brazen shields row in on shapely ships to the channels
of the Simois, eager to take Helen, the sister of that heavenly pair
whom Zeus begat, from Priam, and bear her back to Hellas by toil of
Achaea's shields and spears; encircling Pergamus, the Phrygians' town,
with murderous war around her stone-built towers, dragging men's heads
backward to cut their throats, and sacking the citadel of Troy from
roof to base, a cause of many tears to maids and Priam's wife; and
Helen, the daughter of Zeus, shall weep in bitter grief, because she
left her lord.
Oh! ne'er may there appear to me or to my children's children
the prospect which the wealthy Lydian dames and Phrygia's brides
will have, as at their looms they hold converse: "Say who will pluck
this fair blossom from her ruined country, tightening his grasp on
lovely tresses till the tears flow? 'Tis all through thee, the
offspring of the long-necked swan; if indeed it be a true report
that Leda bare thee to a winged bird, when Zeus transformed himself
thereto, or whether, in the pages of the poets, fables have carried
these tales to men's ears idly, out of season."

Enter ACHILLES.

ACHILLES
Where in these tents is Achaea's general? Which of his servants
will announce to him that Achilles, the son of Peleus, is at his gates
seeking him? For this delay at the Euripus is not the same for all
of us; there be some, for instance, who, though still unwed, have left
their houses desolate and are idling here upon the beach, while others
are married and have children; so strange the longing for this
expedition that has fallen on their hearts by Heaven's will. My own
just plea must I declare, and whoso else hath any wish will speak
for himself. Though I have left Pharsalia and Peleus, still I linger
here by reason of these light breezes at the Euripus, restraining my
Myrmidons, while they are ever instant with me saying, "Why do we
tarry, Achilles? how much longer must we count the days to the start
for Ilium? do something, if thou art so minded; else lead home thy
men, and wait not for the tardy action of these Atridae."

Enter CLYTAEMNESTRA.

CLYTAEMNESTRA
Hail to thee, son of the Nereid goddess! I heard thy voice from
within the tent and therefore came forth.
ACHILLES
O modesty revered! who can this lady be whom I behold, so richly
dowered with beauty's gifts?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No wonder thou knowest me not, seeing I am one thou hast never
before set eyes on; I praise thy reverent address to modesty.
ACHILLES
Who art thou, and wherefore art thou come to the mustering of
the Danai-thou, a woman, to a fenced camp of men?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
The daughter of Leda I; my name Clytaemnestra; and my husband king
Agamemnon.
ACHILLES
Well and shortly answered on all important points! but it ill
befits that I should stand talking to women.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Stay; why seek to fly? Give me thy hand, a prelude to a happy
marriage.
ACHILLES
What is it thou sayest? I give thee my hand? Were I to lay a
finger where I have no right, I could ne'er meet Agamemnon's eye.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
The best of rights hast thou, seeing it is my child thou wilt wed,
O son of the sea-goddess, whom Nereus begat.
ACHILLES
What wedding dost thou speak of? words fail me, lady; can thy wits
have gone astray and art thou inventing this?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
All men are naturally shy in the presence of new relations, when
these remind them of their wedding.
ACHILLES
Lady, I have never wooed daughter of thine, nor have the sons of
Atreus ever mentioned marriage to me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What can it mean? thy turn now to marvel at my words, for thine
are passing strange to me.
ACHILLES
Hazard a guess; that we can both do in this matter; for it may
be we are both correct in our statements.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What! have I suffered such indignity? The marriage I am courting
has no reality, it seems; I am ashamed of it.
ACHILLES
Some one perhaps has made a mock of thee and me; pay no heed
thereto; make light of it.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Farewell; I can no longer face thee with unfaltering eyes, after
being made a liar and suffering this indignity.
ACHILLES
'Tis "farewell" too I bid thee, lady; and now I go within the tent
to seek thy husband.
ATTENDANT (Calling through the tent-door)
Stranger of the race of Aeacus, stay awhile! Ho there! thee I
mean, O goddess-born, and thee, daughter of Leda.
ACHILLES
Who is it calling through the half-opened door? what fear his
voice betrays!
ATTENDANT
A slave am I; of that I am not proud, for fortune permits it not.
ACHILLES
Whose slave art thou? not mine; for mine and Agamemnon's goods are
separate.
ATTENDANT
I belong to this lady who stands before the tent, a gift to her
from Tyndareus her father.
ACHILLES
I am waiting; tell me, if thou art desirous, why thou hast
stayed me.
ATTENDANT
Are ye really all alone here at the door?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
To us alone wilt thou address thyself; come forth from the
king's tent.
ATTENDANT (Coming out)
O Fortune and my own foresight, preserve whom I desire!
ACHILLES
That speech will save them-in the future; it has a certain pompous
air.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Delay not for the sake of touching my right hand, if there is
aught that thou wouldst say to me.
ATTENDANT
Well, thou knowest my character and my devotion to thee and thy
children.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I know thou hast grown old in the service of my house.
ATTENDANT
Likewise thou knowest it was in thy dowry king Agamemnon
received me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Yes, thou camest to Argos with me, and hast been mine this long
time past.
ATTENDANT
True; and though I bear thee all goodwill, I like not thy lord
so well.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Come, come, unfold whate'er thou hast to say.
ATTENDANT
Her father, he that begat her, is on the point of slaying thy
daughter with his own hand.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
How? Out upon thy story, old dotard! thou art mad.
ATTENDANT
Severing with a sword the hapless maid's white throat.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ah, woe is me! Is my husband haply mad?
ATTENDANT
Nay; sane, except where thou and thy daughter are concerned; there
he is mad.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What is his reason? what vengeful fiend impels him?
ATTENDANT
Oracles-at least so Calchas says, in order that the host may start
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Whither? Woe is me, and woe is thee, thy father's destined victim!
ATTENDANT
To the halls of Dardanus, that Menelaus may recover Helen.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
So Helen's return then was fated to affect Iphigenia?
ATTENDANT
Thou knowest all; her father is about to offer thy child to
Artemis.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
But that marriage-what pretext had it for bringing me from home?
ATTENDANT
An inducement to thee to bring thy daughter cheerfully, to wed her
to Achilles.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
On a deadly errand art thou come, my daughter, both thou, and I,
thy mother.
ATTENDANT
Piteous the lot of both of you-and fearful Agamemnon's venture.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Alas! I am undone; my eyes can no longer stem their tears.
ATTENDANT
What more natural than to weep the loss of thy children?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Whence, old man, dost say thou hadst this news?
ATTENDANT
I had started to carry thee a letter referring to the former
writing.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Forbidding or combining to urge my bringing the child to her
death?
ATTENDANT
Nay, forbidding it, for thy lord was then in his sober senses.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
How comes it then, if thou wert really bringing me a letter,
that thou dost not now deliver into my hands?
ATTENDANT
Menelaus snatched it from me-he who caused this trouble.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Dost thou hear that, son of Peleus, the Nereid's child?
ACHILLES
I have been listening to the tale of thy sufferings, and I am
indignant to think I was used as a tool.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
They will slay my child; they have tricked her with thy marriage.
ACHILLES
Like thee I blame thy lord, nor do I view it with mere
indifference.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No longer will I let shame prevent my kneeling to thee, a mortal
to one goddess-born; why do I affect reserve? whose interests should I
consult before my child's? (Throwing herself before ACHILLES)
Oh! help me, goddess-born, in my sore distress, and her that was
called thy bride-in vain, 'tis true, yet called she was. For thee it
was I wreathed her head and led her forth as if to marriage, but now
it is to slaughter I am bringing her. On thee will come reproach
because thou didst not help her; for though not wedded to her, yet
wert thou the loving husband of my hapless maid in name at any rate.
By thy beard, right hand, and mother too I do implore thee; for thy
name it was that worked my ruin, and thou art bound to stand by
that. Except thy knees I have no altar whereunto to fly; and not a
friend stands at my side. Thou hast heard the cruel abandoned scheme
of Agamemnon; and I, a woman, am come, as thou seest, to a camp of
lawless sailor-folk, bold in evil's cause, though useful when they
list; wherefore if thou boldly stretch forth thine arm in my behalf,
our safety is assured; but if thou withhold it, we are lost.
CHORUS
A wondrous thing is motherhood, carrying with it a potent spell,
wherein all share, so that for their children's sake they will
endure affliction.
ACHILLES
My proud spirit is stirred to range aloft, but it has learnt to
grieve in misfortune and rejoice in high prosperity with equal
moderation. For these are the men who can count on ordering all
their life aright by wisdom's rules. True, there are cases where
'tis pleasant not to be too wise, but there are others, where some
store of wisdom helps. Brought up in godly Chiron's halls myself, I
learnt to keep a single heart; and provided the Atridae lead aright, I
will obey them; but when they cease therefrom, no more will I obey.
Nay, but here and in Troy I will show the freedom of my nature, and,
as far as in me lies, do honour to Ares with my spear. Thee, lady, who
hast suffered so cruelly from thy nearest and dearest, will I, by
every effort in a young man's power, set right, investing thee with
that amount of pity, and never shall thy daughter, after being once
called my bride, die by her father's hand; for I will not lend
myself to thy husband's subtle tricks; no! for it will be my name that
kills thy child, although it wieldeth not the steel. Thy own husband
is the actual cause, but I shall no longer be guiltless, if, because
of me and my marriage, this maiden perishes, she that hath suffered
past endurance and been the victim of affronts most strangely
undeserved. So am I made the poorest wretch in Argos; I a thing of
naught, and Menelaus counting for a man! No son of Peleus I, but the
issue of a vengeful fiend, if my name shall serve thy husband for
the murder. Nay! by Nereus, who begat my mother Thetis, in his home
amid the flowing waves, never shall king Agamemnon touch thy daughter,
no! not even to the laying of a finger-tip upon her robe; else will
Sipylus, that frontier town of barbarism, the cradle of those
chieftains' line, be henceforth a city indeed, while Phthia's name
will nowhere find mention. Calchas, the seer, shall rue beginning
the sacrifice with his barley-meal and lustral water. Why, what is a
seer? A man who with luck tells the truth sometimes, with frequent
falsehoods, but when his luck deserts him, collapses then and there.
It is not to secure a bride that I have spoken thus-there be maids
unnumbered eager to have my love-no! but king Agamemnon has put an
insult on me; he should have asked my leave to use my name as a
means to catch the child, for it was I chiefly who induced
Clytaemnestra to betroth her daughter to me; verily I had yielded this
to Hellas, if that was where our going to Ilium broke down; I would
never have refused to further my fellow soldiers' common interest.
But, as it is, I am as naught in the eyes of those chieftains, and
little they reck of treating me well or ill. My sword shall soon
know if any one is to snatch thy daughter from me, for then will I
make it reek with the bloody stains of slaughter, ere it reach
Phrygia. Calm thyself then; as a god in his might I appeared to
thee, without being so, but such will I show myself for all that.
CHORUS
Son of Peleus, thy words are alike worthy of thee and that
sea-born deity, the holy goddess.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ah! would I could find words to utter thy praise without excess,
and yet not lose the graciousness thereof by stinting it; for when the
good are praised, they have a feeling, as it were, of hatred for those
who in their praise exceed the mean. But I am ashamed of intruding a
tale of woe, since my affliction touches myself alone and thou art not
affected by troubles of mine; but still it looks well for the man of
worth to assist the unfortunate, even when he is not connected with
them. Wherefore pity us, for our sufferings cry for pity; in the first
place, I have harboured an idle hope in thinking to have thee wed my
daughter; and next, perhaps, the slaying of my child will be to thee
an evil omen in thy wooing hereafter, against which thou must guard
thyself. Thy words were good, both first and last; for if thou will it
so, my daughter will be saved. Wilt have her clasp thy knees in
suppliant wise? 'Tis no maid's part; yet if it seem good to thee,
why come she shall with the modest look of free-born maid; but if I
shall obtain the self-same end from thee without ker coming, then
let her abide within, for there is dignity in her reserve; still
reserve must only go as far as the case allows.
ACHILLES
Bring not thou thy daughter out for me to see, lady, nor let us
incur the reproach of the ignorant; for an army, when gathered
together without domestic duties to employ it, loves the evil gossip
of malicious tongues. After all, should ye supplicate me, ye will
attain a like result as if I had ne'er been supplicated; for I am
myself engaged in a mighty struggle to rid you of your troubles. One
thing be sure thou hast heard; I will not tell a lie; if I do that
or idly mock thee, may I die, but live if I preserve the maid.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Bless thee for ever succouring the distressed!
ACHILLES
Hearken then to me, that the matter may succeed.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What is thy proposal? for hear thee I must.
ACHILLES
Let us once more urge her father to a better frame of mind.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
He is something of a coward, and fears the army too much.
ACHILLES
Still argument o'erthroweth argument.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Cold hope indeed; but tell me what I must do.
ACHILLES
Entreat him first not to slay his children, and if he is stubborn,
come to me. Fir if he consents to thy request, my intervention need go
no further, since this consent insures thy safety. I too shall show
myself in a better light to my friend, and the army will not blame me,
if I arrange the matter by reason rather than force; while, should
things turn out well, the result will prove satisfactory both to
thee and thy friends, even without my interference.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
How sensibly thou speakest! I must act as seemeth best to thee;
but should I fail of my object, where am I to see thee again?
whither must I turn my wretched steps and find thee ready to
champion my distress?
ACHILLES
I am keeping watch to guard thee, where occasion calls, that
none see thee passing through the host of Danai with that scared look.
Shame not thy father's house; for Tyndareus deserveth not to be ill
spoken of, being a mighty man in Hellas.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
'Tis even so. Command me; I must play the slave to thee. If
there are gods, thou for thy righteous dealing wilt find them
favourable; if there are none, what need to toil?

Exeunt ACHILLES and CLYTAEMNESTRA.

CHORUS
What wedding-hymn was that which raised its strains to the sound
of Libyan flutes, to the music of the dancer's lyre, and the note of
the pipe of reeds?
'Twas in the day Pieria's fair-tressed choir came o'er the
slopes of Pelion to the marriage-feast of Peleus, beating the ground
with print of golden sandals at the banquet of the gods, and hymning
in dulcet strains the praise of Thetis and the son of Aeacus, o'er the
Centaurs' hill, down through the woods of Pelion.
There was the Dardanian boy, Phrygian Ganymede, whom Zeus delights
to honour, drawing off the wine he mixed in the depths of golden
bowls; while, along the gleaming sand, the fifty daughters of Nereus
graced the marriage with their dancing, circling in a mazy ring.
Came too the revel-rout of Centaurs, mounted on horses, to the
feast of the gods and the mixing-bowl of Bacchus, leaning on
fir-trees, with wreaths of green foliage round their heads; and loudly
cried the prophet Chiron, skilled in arts inspired by Phoebus;
"Daughter of Nereus, thou shalt bear a son"-whose name he gave-"a
dazzling light to Thessaly; for he shall come with an army of spearmen
to the far-famed land of Priam, to set it in a blaze, his body cased
in a suit of golden mail forged by Hephaestus, a gift from his
goddess-mother, even from Thetis who bore him."
Then shed the gods a blessing on the marriage of the high-born
bride, who was first of Nereus' daughters, and on the wedding of
Peleus. But thee, will Argives crown, wreathing the lovely tresses
of thy hair, like a dappled mountain hind brought from some rocky cave
or a heifer undefiled, and staining with blood thy human throat;
though thou wert never reared like these amid the piping and whistling
of herdsmen, but at thy mother's side, to be decked one day by her
as the bride of a son of Inachus. Where now does the face of modesty
or virtue avail aught? seeing that godlessness holds sway, and
virtue is neglected by men and thrust behind them, lawlessness o'er
law prevailing, and mortals no longer making common cause to keep
the jealousy of gods from reaching them.
CLYTAEMNESTRA (Reappearing from the tent)
I have come from the tent to look out for my husband, who went
away and left its shelter long ago; while that poor child, my
daughter, hearing of the death her father designs for her, is in
tears, uttering in many keys her piteous lamentation. (Catching
sight of AGAMEMNON) It Seems I was speaking of one not far away; for
there is Agamemnon, who will soon be detected in the commission of a
crime against his own child.

Enter AGAMEMNON.

AGAMEMNON
Daughter of Leda, 'tis lucky I have found thee outside the tent,
to discuss with thee in our daughter's absence subjects not suited for
the ears of maidens on the eve of marriage.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What, pray, is dependent on the present crisis?
AGAMEMNON
Send the maiden out to join her father, for the lustral water
stands there ready, and barley-meal to scatter with the hand on the
cleansing flame, and heifers to be slain in honour of the goddess
Artemis, to usher in the marriage, their black blood spouting from
them.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Though fair the words thou usest, I know not how I am to name
thy deeds in terms of praise.
Come forth, my daughter; full well thou knowest what is in thy
father's mind; take the child Orestes, thy brother, and bring him with
thee in the folds of thy robe.

Enter IPHIGENIA.

Behold chold she comes, in obedience to thy summons. Myself will
speak the rest alike for her and me.
AGAMEMNON
My child, why weepest thou and no longer lookest cheerfully? why
art thou fixing thine eyes upon the ground and holding thy robe before
them?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Alas! with which of my woes shall I begin? for I may treat them
all as first, or put them last or midway anywhere.
AGAMEMNON
How now? I find you all alike, confusion and alarm in every eye.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My husband, answer frankly the questions I ask thee.
AGAMEMNON
There is no necessity to order me; I am willing to be questioned.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Dost thou mean to slay thy child and mine?
AGAMEMNON (Starting)
Ha! these are heartless words, unwarranted suspicions!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Peace! answer me that question first.
AGAMEMNON
Put a fair question and thou shalt have a fair answer.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I have no other questions to put; give me no other answers.
AGAMEMNON
O fate revered, O destiny, and fortune mine!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Aye, and mine and this maid's too; the three share one bad
fortune.
AGAMEMNON
Whom have I injured?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Dost thou ask me this question? A thought like that itself amounts
to thoughtlessness.
AGAMEMNON
Ruined! my secret out!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I know all; I have heard what thou art bent on doing to me. Thy
very silence and those frequent groans are a confession; tire not
thyself by telling it.
AGAMEMNON
Lo! I am silent; for, if I tell thee a falsehood, needs must I add
effrontery to misfortune.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Well, listen; for I will now unfold my meaning and no longer
employ dark riddles. In the first place-to reproach thee first with
this-it was not of my own free will but by force that thou didst
take and wed me, after slaying Tantalus, my former husband, and
dashing my babe on the ground alive, when thou hadst torn him from
my breast with brutal violence. Then, when those two sons of Zeus, who
were likewise my brothers, came flashing on horseback to war with
thee, Tyndareus, my aged sire, rescued thee because of thy suppliant
prayers, and thou in turn hadst me to wife. Once reconciled to thee
upon this footing, thou wilt bear me witness I have been a blameless
wife to thee and thy family, chaste in love, an honour to thy house,
that so thy coming in might be with joy and thy going out with
gladness. And 'tis seldom a man secures a wife like this, though the
getting of a worthless woman is no rarity.
Besides three daughters, of one of whom thou art heartlessly
depriving me, I am the mother of this son of thine. If anyone asks
thee thy reason for slaying her, tell me, what wilt thou say? or
must say it for thee? "It is that Menelaus may recover Helen." An
honourable exchange, indeed, to pay a wicked woman's price in
children's lives! 'Tis buying what we most detest with what we hold
most dear. Again, if thou go forth with the host, leaving me in thy
halls, and art long absent at Troy, what will my feelings be at
home, dost think? when I behold each vacant chair and her chamber
now deserted, and then sit down alone in tears, making ceaseless
lamentation for her, "Ah! my child, he that begat thee hath slain thee
himself, he and no one else, nor was it by another's hand...to thy
home, after leaving such a price to be paid; for it needs now but a
trifling pretext for me and the daughters remaining to give thee the
reception it is right thou shouldst receive. I adjure thee by the
gods, compel me not to sin against thee, nor sin thyself. Go to;
suppose thou sacrifice the child; what prayer wilt thou utter, when
'tis done? what will the blessing be that thou wilt invoke upon
thyself as thou art slaying our daughter? an ill returning maybe,
seeing the disgrace that speeds thy going forth. Is it right that I
should pray for any luck to attend thee? Surely we should deem the
gods devoid of sense, if we harboured a kindly feeling towards
murderers. Shalt thou embrace thy children on thy coming back to
Argos? Nay, thou hast no right. Will any child of thing e'er face
thee, if thou have surrendered one of them to death? Has this ever
entered into thy calculations, or does thy one duty consist in
carrying a sceptre about and marching at the head of an army? when
thou mightest have made this fair proposal among the Argives; "Is it
your wish, Achaeans, to sail for Phrygia's shores? Why then, cast lots
whose daughter has to die." For that would have been a fair course for
thee to pursue, instead of picking out thy own child for the victim
and presenting her to the Danai; or Menelaus, inasmuch as it was his
concern, should have slain Hermione for her mother. As it is, I, who
still am true to thee, must lose my child; while she, who went astray,
will return with her daughter, and live in happiness at Sparta. If I
am wrong in aught herein, answer me; but if my words have been
fairly urged, do not still slay thy child, who is mine too, and thou
wilt be wise.
CHORUS
Hearken to her Agamemnon, for to join in saving thy children's
lives is surely a noble deed; none would gainsay this.
IPHIGENIA
Had I the eloquence of Orpheus, my father, to move the rocks by
chanted spells to follow me, or to charm by speaking whom I would, I
had resorted to it. But as it is, I'll bring my tears-the only art I
know; for that I might attempt. And about thy knees, in suppliant
wise, I twine my limbs these limbs thy wife here bore. Destroy me
not before my time, for sweet is to look upon the light, and force
me not to visit scenes below. I was the first to call thee father,
thou the first to call me child; the first was I to sit upon thy
knee and give and take the fond caress. And this was what thou then
wouldst say, "Shall I see thee, my child, living a happy prosperous
life in a husband's home one day, in a manner worthy of myself?" And I
in my turn would ask, as I hung about thy beard, whereto I now am
clinging, "How shall I see thee? Shall I be giving thee a glad
reception in my halls, father, in thy old age, repaying all thy
anxious care in rearing me?
I remember all we said, 'tis thou who hast forgotten and now
wouldst take my life. By Pelops, I entreat thee spare me, by thy
father Atreus and my mother here, who suffers now a second time the
pangs she felt before when bearing me! What have I to do with the
marriage of Paris and Helen? why is his coming to prove my ruin,
father? Look upon me; one glance, one kiss bestow, that this at
least I may carry to my death as a memorial of thee, though thou
heed not my pleading.
(Holding up the babe to ORESTES) Feeble ally though thou art,
brother, to thy loved ones, yet add thy tears to mine and entreat
our father for thy sister's life; even in babes there is a natural
sense of ill. O father, see this speechless supplication made to thee;
pity me; have mercy on my tender years! Yea, by thy beard we two
fond hearts implore thy pity, the one a babe, a full-grown maid the
other. By summing all my pleas in one, I will prevail in what I say.
To gaze upon yon light is man's most cherished gift; that life below
is nothingness, and whoso longs for death is mad. Better live a life
of woe than die a death of glory!
CHORUS
Ah, wretched Helen! Awful the struggle that has come to the sons
of Atreus and their children, thanks to thee and those marriages of
thine.
AGAMEMNON
While loving my own children, I yet understand what should move my
pity and what should not; I were a madman else. 'Tis terrible for me
to bring myself to this, nor less terrible is it to refuse,
daughter; for I must fare the same. Ye see the vastness of von naval
host, and the numbers of bronze clad warriors from Hellas, who can
neither make their way to Ilium's towers nor raze the far-famed
citadel of Troy, unless I offer thee according to the word of
Calchas the seer. Some mad desire possesses the host of Hellas to sail
forthwith to the land of the barbarians, and put a stop to the rape of
wives from Hellas, and they will slay my daughters in Argos as well as
you and me, if I disregard the goddess's behests. It is not Menelaus
who hath enslaved me to him, child, nor have I followed wish of his;
nay, 'tis Hellas, for whom I must sacrifice thee whether I will or no;
to this necessity I bow my head; for her freedom must be preserved, as
far as any help of thine, daughter, or mine can go; nor must they, who
are the sons Hellas, be pillaged of their wives by barbarian robbery.

AGAMEMNON rushes from the stage,

CLYTAEMNESTRA
My child Ye stranger ladies!
Woe is me for this thy death! Thy father flies, surrendering
thee to Hades.
IPHIGENIA
Woe is me, O mother mine! for the same strain hath fallen to
both of us in our fortune. No more for me the light of day! no more
the beams of yonder sun! Woe for that snow-beat glen in Phrygia and
the hills of Ida, where Priam once exposed a tender babe, torn from
his mother's arms to meet a deadly doom, e'en Paris, called the
child of Ida in the Phrygians' town. Would Priam ne'er had settled
him, the herdsman reared amid the herds, beside that water
crystal-clear, where are fountains of the Nymphs and their meadow rich
with blooming flowers, where hyacinths and rose-buds blow for
goddesses to gather! Hither one day came Pallas and Cypris of the
subtle heart, Hera too and Hermes messenger of Zeus-Cypris, proud of
the longing she causes; Pallas of her prowess; and Hera of her royal
marriage with king Zeus-to decide a hateful strife about their beauty;
but it is my death, maidens-fraught, 'tis true, with glory to the
Danai-that Artemis has received as an offering, before they begin
the voyage to Ilium.
O mother, mother! he that begat me to this life of sorrow has gone
and left me all alone. Ah! woe is me! a bitter, bitter sight for me
was Helen, evil Helen! to me now doomed to bleed and die,
slaughtered by an impious sire.
I would this Aulis had never received in its havens here the
sterns of their bronze-beaked ships, the fleet which was speeding them
to Troy; and would that Zeus had never breathed on the Euripus a
wind to stop the expedition, tempering, as he doth, a different breeze
to different men, so that some have joy in setting sail, and sorrow
some, and others hard constraint, to make some start and others stay
and others furl their sails! Full of trouble then, it seems, is the
race of mortals, full of trouble verily; and 'tis ever Fate's decree
that man should find distress.
Woe! woe to thee, thou child of Tyndareus, for the suffering and
anguish sore, which thou art causing the Danai!
CHORUS
I pity thee for thy cruel fate-a fate I would thou ne'er hadst
met!
IPHIGENIA
O mother that bare me! I see a throng of men approaching.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
It is the goddess-born thou seest, child, for whom thou camest
hither.
IPHIGENIA (Calling into the tent)
Open the tent-door to me, servants, that I may hide myself.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Why seek to fly, my child?
IPHIGENIA
I am ashamed to face Achilles.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wherefore?
IPHIGENIA
The luckless ending to our marriage causes me to feel abashed.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No time for affectation now in face of what has chanced. Stay
then; reserve will do no good, if only we can-

Enter ACHILLES.

ACHILLES
Daughter of Leda, lady of sorrows!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No misnomer that.
ACHILLES
A fearful cry is heard among the Argives.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What is it? tell me.
ACHILLES
It concerns thy child.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
An evil omen for thy words.
ACHILLES
They say her sacrifice is necessary.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
And is there no one to say a word against them?
ACHILLES
Indeed I was in some danger myself from the tumult.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
In danger of what? kind sir.
ACHILLES
Of being stoned.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Surely not for trying to save my daughter?
ACHILLES
The very reason.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Who would have dared to lay a finger on thee?
ACHILLES
The men of Hellas, one and all.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Were not thy Myrmidon warriors at thy side?
ACHILLES
They were the first who turned against me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My child! we are lost, undone, it seems.
ACHILLES
They taunted me as the man whom marriage had enslaved.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
And what didst thou answer them?
ACHILLES
I craved the life of her I meant to wed-
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Justly so.
ACHILLES
The wife her father promised me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Aye, and sent to fetch from Argos.
ACHILLES
But I was overcome by clamorous cries.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Truly the mob is a dire mischief.
ACHILLES
But I will help thee for all that.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wilt thou really fight them single-handed?
ACHILLES
Dost see these warriors here, carrying my arms?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Bless thee for thy kind intent!
ACHILLES
Well, I shall be blessed.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Then my child will not be slaughtered now?
ACHILLES
No, not with my consent at any rate.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
But will any of them come to lay hands on the maid?
ACHILLES
Thousands of them, with Odysseus at their head.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
The son of Sisyphus?
ACHILLES
The very same.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Acting for himself or by the army's order?
ACHILLES
By their choice-and his own.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
An evil choice indeed, to stain his hands in blood!
ACHILLES
But I will hold him back.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Will he seize and bear her hence against her will?
ACHILLES
Aye, by her golden hair no doubt.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What must I do, when it comes to that?
ACHILLES
Keep hold of thy daughter.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Be sure that she shall not be slain, as far as that can help her.
ACHILLES
Believe me, it will come to this.
IPHIGENIA
Mother, hear me while I speak, for I see that thou art wroth
with thy husband to no purpose; 'tis hard for us to persist in
impossibilities. Our thanks are due to this stranger for his ready
help; but thou must also see to it that he is not reproached by the
army, leaving us no better off and himself involved in trouble.
Listen, mother; hear what thoughts have passed across my mind. I am
resolved to die; and this I fain would do with honour, dismissing from
me what is mean. Towards this now, mother, turn thy thoughts, and with
me weigh how well I speak; to me the whole of mighty Hellas looks;
on me the passage o'er the sea depends; on me the sack of Troy; and in
my power it lies to check henceforth barbarian raids on happy
Hellas, if ever in the days to come they seek to seize her
daughters, when once they have atoned by death for the violation of
Helen's marriage by Paris. All this deliverance will my death
insure, and my fame for setting Hellas free will be a happy one.
Besides, I have no right at all to cling too fondly to my life; for
thou didst not bear me for myself alone, but as a public blessing to
all Hellas. What! shall countless warriors, armed with shields,
those myriads sitting at the oar, find courage to attack the foe and
die for Hellas, because their fatherland is wronged, and my one life
prevent all this? What kind of justice is that? could I find a word in
answer? Now turn we to that other point. It is not right that this man
should enter the lists with all Argos or be slain fox a woman's
sake. Better a single man should see the light than ten thousand
women. If Artemis is minded to take this body, am I, a weak mortal, to
thwart the goddess? Nay, that were impossible. To Hellas I resign
it; offer this sacrifice and make an utter end of Troy. This is my
enduring monument; marriage, motherhood, and fame-all these is it to
me. And it is but right, mother, that Hellenes should rule barbarians,
but not barbarians Hellenes, those being slaves, while these are free.
CHORUS
Thou playest a noble part, maiden; but sickly are the whims of
Fate and the goddess.
ACHILLES
Daughter of Agamemnon I some god was bent on blessing me, could
I but have won thee for my wife. In thee I reckon Hellas happy, and
thee in Hellas; for this that thou hast said is good and worthy of thy
fatherland; since thou, abandoning a strife with heavenly powers,
which are too strong for thee, has fairly weighed advantages and
needs. But now that I have looked into thy noble nature, I feel
still more a fond desire to win thee for my bride. Look to it; for I
would fain serve thee and receive thee in my halls; and witness
Thetis, how I grieve to think I shall not save thy life by doing
battle with the Danai. Reflect, I say; a dreadful ill is death.
IPHIGENIA
This I say, without regard to anyone. Enough that the daughter
of Tyndareus is causing wars and bloodshed by her beauty; then be
not slain thyself, sir stranger, nor seek to slay another on my
account; but let me, if I can, save Hellas.
ACHILLES
Heroic spirit! I can say no more to this, since thou art so
minded; for thine is a noble resolve; why should not one avow the
truth? Yet will I speak, for thou wilt haply change thy mind; that
thou mayst know then what my offer is, I will go and place these
arms of mine near the altar, resolved not to permit thy death but to
prevent it; for brave as thou art, at sight of the knife held at thy
throat, thou wilt soon avail thyself of what I said. So I will not let
thee perish through any thoughtlessness of thine, but will go to the
temple of the goddess with these arms and await thy arrival there.

Exit ACHILLES.

IPHIGENIA
Mother, why so silent, thine eyes wet with tears?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I have reason, woe is me! to be sad at heart.
IPHIGENIA
Forbear; make me not a coward; here in one thing obey me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Say what it is, my child, for at my hands thou shalt ne'er
suffer injury.
IPHIGENIA
Cut not off the tresses of thy hair for me, nor clothe thyself
in sable garb.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Why, my child, What is it thou hast said? Shall I, when I lose
thee-
IPHIGENIA
"Lose" me, thou dost not; I am saved and thou renowned, as far
as I can make thee.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
How so? Must I not mourn thy death?
IPHIGENIA
By no means, for I shall have no tomb heaped o'er me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What, is not the act of dying held to imply burial?
IPHIGENIA
The altar of the goddess, Zeus's daughter, will be my tomb.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Well, my child, I will let thee persuade me, for thou sayest well.
IPHIGENIA
Aye, as one who prospereth and doeth Hellas service.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What message shall I carry to thy sisters?
IPHIGENIA
Put not mourning raiment on them either.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
But is there no fond message I can give the maidens from thee?
IPHIGENIA
Yes, my farewell words; and promise me to rear this babe Orestes
to manhood.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Press him to thy bosom; 'tis thy last look.
IPHIGENIA
O thou that art most dear to me! thou hast helped thy friends as
thou hadst means.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Is there anything I can do to pleasure thee in Argos?
IPHIGENIA
Yes, hate not my father, thy own husband.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Fearful are the trials through which he has to go because of thee.
IPHIGENIA
It was against his will he ruined me for the sake of Hellas.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ah! but be employed base treachery, unworthy of Atreus.
IPHIGENIA
Who will escort me hence, before my hair is torn?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I will go with thee.
IPHIGENIA
No, not thou; thou say'st not well.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I will, clinging to thy robes.
IPHIGENIA
Be persuaded by me, mother, stay here; for this is the better
way alike for me and thee; but let one of these attendants of my
father conduct me to the meadow of Artemis, where I shall be
sacrificed.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Art gone from me, my child?
IPHIGENIA
Aye, and with no chance of ever returning.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Leaving thy mother?
IPHIGENIA
Yes, as thou seest, undeservedly.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Hold! leave me not!
IPHIGENIA
I cannot let thee shed a tear. (Exit CLYTAEMNESTRA. To the CHORUS)
Be it yours, maidens, to hymn in joyous strains Artemis, the child
of Zeus, for my hard lot; and let the order for a solemn hush go forth
to the Danai. Begin the sacrifice with the baskets, let the fire blaze
for the purifying meal of sprinkling, and my father pace from left
to right about the altar; for I come to bestow on Hellas safety
crowned with victory. Lead me hence, me the destroyer of Ilium's
town and the Phrygians; give me wreaths to cast about me; bring them
hither; here are my tresses to crown; bring lustral water too. Dance
to Artemis, queen Artemis the blest, around her fane and altar; for by
the blood of my sacrifice I will blot out the oracle, if it needs must
be.
O mother, lady revered! for thee shall my tears be shed, and
now; for at the holy rites I may not weep.
Sing with me, maidens, sing the praises of Artemis, whose temple
faces Chalcis, where angry spearmen madly chafe, here in the narrow
havens of Aulis, because of me.
O Pelasgia, land of my birth, and Mycenae, my home!
CHORUS
Is it on Perseus' citadel thou callest, that town Cyclopean
workmen build
IPHIGENIA
To be a light to Hellas didst thou rear me, and so I say not No to
death.
CHORUS
Thou art right; no fear that fame will e'er desert thee!
IPHIGENIA
Hail to thee, bright lamp of day and light of Zeus! A different
life, different lot is henceforth mine. Farewell I bid thee, light
beloved!

Exit IPHIGENIA.

CHORUS
Behold the maiden on her way, the destroyer of Ilium's town and
its Phrygians, with garlands twined about her head, and drops of
lustral water on her, soon to besprinkle with her gushing blood the
altar of a murderous goddess, what time her shapely neck is severed.
For thee fair streams of a father's pouring and lustral waters are
in store, for thee Achaea's host is waiting, eager to reach the
citadel of Ilium. But let us celebrate Artemis, the daughter of
Zeus, queen among the gods, as if upon some happy chance.
O lady revered, delighting in human sacrifice, send on its way
to Phrygia's land the host of the Hellenes, to Troy's abodes of guile,
and grant that Agamemnon may wreathe his head with deathless fame, a
crown of fairest glory for the spearmen of Hellas.

Enter MESSENGER.

MESSENGER
Come forth, O Clytaemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus, from the tent,
to hear my news.

Enter CLYTAEMNESTRA.

CLYTAEMNESTRA
I heard thy voice and am come in sad dismay and fearful dread, not
sure but what thou hast arrived with tidings of some fresh trouble for
me besides the present woe.
MESSENGER
Nay, rather would I unfold to thee a story strange and
marvellous about thy child.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Delay not, then, but speak at once.
MESSENGER
Dear mistress, thou shalt learn all clearly; from the outset
will I tell it, unless my memory fail me somewhat and confuse my
tongue in its account. As soon as we reached the grove of Artemis, the
child of Zeus, and the meadows gay with flowers, where the Achaean
troops were gathered, bringing thy daughter with us, forthwith the
Argive host began assembling; but when king Agamemnon saw the maiden
on her way to the grove to be sacrificed, he gave one groan, and,
turning away his face, let the tears burst from his eyes, as he held
his robe before them. But the maid, standing close by him that begot
her, spake on this wise, "O my father, here am I to do thy bidding;
freely I offer this body of mine for my country and all Hellas, that
ye may lead me to the altar of the goddess and sacrifice me, since
this is Heaven's ordinance. Good luck be yours for any help that I
afford! and may ye obtain the victor's gift and come again to the land
of your fathers. So then let none of the Argives lay hands on me,
for I will bravely yield my neck without a word."
She spake; and each man marvelled, as he heard the maiden's brave,
unflinching speech. But in the midst up stood Talthybius-for his
this duty was-and bade the host refrain from word or deed; and
Calchas, the seer, drawing a sharp sword from out its scabbard laid it
in a basket of beaten gold, crowning the maiden's head the while. Then
the son of Peleus, taking the basket and with it lustral water in
his hand, ran round the altar of the goddess uttering these words,
"O Artemis, thou child of Zeus, slayer of wild beasts, that wheelest
thy dazzling light amid the gloom, accept this sacrifice, which we,
the host of the Achaeans and king Agamemnon with us, offer to thee,
even pure blood from a beauteous maiden's neck; and grant us safe
sailing for our ships and the sack of Troy's towers by our spears."
Meantime the sons of Atreus and all the host stood looking on
the ground, while the priest, seizing his knife, offered up a prayer
and was closely scanning the maiden's throat to see where he should
strike. 'Twas no slight sorrow filled my heart, as I stood by with
bowed head; when lo! a sudden miracle! Each one of us distinctly heard
the sound of a blow, but none saw the spot where the maiden
vanished. Loudly the priest cried out, and all the host took up the
cry at the sight of a marvel all unlooked for, due to some god's
agency, and passing all belief, although 'twas seen; for there upon
the ground lay a hind of size immense and passing fair to sec, gasping
out her life, with whose blood the altar of the goddess was thoroughly
bedewed. Whereon spake Calchas thus-his joy thou canst imagine-"Ye
captains of this leagued Achaean host, do ye see this victim, which
the goddess has set before her altar, a mountain roaming hind? This is
more welcome to her by far than the maid, that she may not defile
her altar by shedding noble blood. Gladly has she accepted it and is
granting us a prosperous voyage for our attack on Ilium. Wherefore
take heart, sailors, each man of you, and away to your ships, for
to-day must we leave the hollow bays of Aulis and cross the Aegean
main."
Then, when the sacrifice was wholly burnt to ashes in the
blazing flame, he offered such prayers as were meet, that the army
might win return; but me Agamemnon sends to tell thee this, and say
what Heaven-sent luck is his, and how he hath secured undying fame
throughout the length of Hellas. Now I was there myself and speak as
an eye-witness; without a doubt thy child flew away to the gods. A
truce then to thy sorrowing, and cease to be wroth with thy husband;
for God's ways with man are not what we expect, and those whom he
loves, he keepeth safe; yea, for this day hath seen thy daughter
dead and brought to life again.

Exit MESSENGER.

CHORUS
What joy to hear these tidings from the messenger! He tells thee
thy child is living still, among the gods.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Which of the gods, my child, hath stolen thee? How am I to address
thee? How can I be sure that this is not an idle tale told to cheer
me, to make me cease my piteous lamentation for thee?
CHORUS
Lo! king Agamemnon approaches, to confirm this story for thee.

Enter AGAMEMNON.

AGAMEMNON
Happy may we be counted, lady, as far as concerns our daughter;
for she hath fellowship with gods in very sooth. But thou must take
this tender babe and start for home, for the host is looking now to
sail. Fare thee well! 'tis long ere I shall greet thee on my return
from Troy; may it be well with thee!
CHORUS
Son of Atreus, start for Phrygia's land with joy and so return,
I pray, after taking from Troy her fairest spoils.
Exeunt OMNES.
THE END

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