Delphi Complete Works of Aeschylus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics) (24 page)
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Authors: Aeschylus
CHORUS
[1005]
Alas!
Alas! Sorrowful work! You were done in by a wretched death. Alas! Alas! And for
the survivor also suffering blossoms.
ORESTES
[1010]
Did she
do the deed or not? No, this is my witness, dyed by Aegisthus’ sword. This is a
stain of blood that helps time to spoil the many tinctures of embroidered
fabric. Now at last I speak his praises. Now at last I am present to lament
him, as I address this web that wrought my father’s death. Yet I grieve for the
deed and the punishment and for my whole clan. My victory is an unenviable
pollution.
CHORUS
[1018]
No mortal
being shall pass his life unscathed, free from all suffering to the end. Alas!
Alas! One tribulation comes today, another tomorrow.
ORESTES
[1021]
But since
I would have you know, for I do not know how it will end: I think I am a
charioteer driving my team far beyond the course. For my ungoverned wits are
whirling me away overmastered, and at my heart fear wishes to sing and dance to
a tune of wrath. But while I am still in my senses, I proclaim to those who
hold me dear and declare that not without justice did I slay my mother, the
unclean murderess of my father, and a thing loathed by the gods.
[1029]
And for the
spells that gave me the courage for this deed I count Loxias, the prophet of
Pytho, my chief source. It was he who declared that, if I did this thing, I
would be acquitted of wrongdoing. But if I refrained — I will not name the
penalty; for no bowshot could reach such a height of anguish.
[1034]
And now observe
me, how armed with this branch and wreath I go as a suppliant, an outcast for
the shedding of kindred blood, to the temple set square on the womb of the
earth, the precinct of Loxias, and to the bright fire said to be imperishable.
To no other hearth did Loxias bid me turn. And as to the manner in which this
evil deed was wrought, I charge all men of Argos in time to come to bear me witness. I
go forth a wanderer, estranged from this land, leaving this repute behind, in
life or death.
CHORUS
[1043]
And you
have done well. Therefore do not yoke your tongue to an ill-omened speech, nor
let your lips give vent to evil forebodings, since you have freed the whole
realm of Argos
by lopping off the heads of two serpents with a fortunate stroke.
ORESTES
[1048]
Ah, ah!
You handmaidens, look at them there: like Gorgons, wrapped in sable garments,
entwined with swarming snakes! I can stay no longer.
CHORUS
[1051]
What
fantasies disturb you, dearest of sons to your father? Wait, do not be all
overcome by fear.
ORESTES
[1053]
To me
these are no imagined troubles. For there indeed are the hounds of wrath to
avenge my mother.
CHORUS
[1055]
It is
that the blood is still fresh on your hands; this is the cause of the disorder
that assails your wits.
ORESTES
[1057]
O lord
Apollo, look! Now they come in troops, and from their eyes they drip loathsome
blood!
CHORUS
[1059]
There is
one way to cleanse you: the touch of Loxias will set you free from this
affliction.
ORESTES
[1061]
You do
not see them, but I see them. I am pursued. I can stay no longer.
[
Rushes out.
]
CHORUS
[1063]
Then may
blessings go with you, and may the god watch benevolently over you and guard
you with favorable fortunes!
[1065]
Look! Now
again, for the third time, has the tempest of this clan burst on the royal
house and run its course. First, at the beginning, came the cruel woes of
children slain for food; next, the fate of a man, a king, when the warlord of
the Achaeans perished, murdered in his bath. And now, once again, there has
come from somewhere a third, a deliverer, or shall I say a doom? Oh when will
it finish its work, when will the fury of calamity, lulled to rest, find an end
and cease?
Translated by Herbert Weir Smyth
The final part
of the
Oresteia
explores the question
of Orestes’ guilt and whether he should be punished for the killing of his
mother. In the drama, the Furies drive him from Argos and into the wilderness. He makes his
way to the temple
of Apollo, where he begs the
deity to drive the Furies away. Apollo had encouraged Orestes to kill
Clytemnestra and so bears some of the guilt for the murder. The Furies are a
more ancient race of the gods and so Apollo has to send Orestes to the temple of Athena, with Hermes as a guide.
The Furies
track him down, and the goddess Athena, patron of Athens, intervenes, declaring that a trial is
necessary. Apollo argues Orestes’ case and, after the judges, including Athena
deliver a tie vote, Athena announces that Orestes is acquitted. She renames the
Furies ‘The Eumenides’ (The Good-spirited, or Kindly Ones), and extols the
importance of reason in the development of laws, hinting that the ideals of a
democratic Athens
should be praised.
‘Orestes Pursued by the Furies’ by William-Adolphe
Bouguereau
THE PYTHIAN PROPHETESS
APOLLO
ORESTES
SHADE OF CLYTAEMESTRA
CHORUS OF FURIES
ATHENA
ESCORT
SCENE. — (1) The temple
of Apollo at Delphi ; (2) Athena’s
temple at Athens.
TIME. — The heroic age.
DATE. — 458 B.C., at the City Dionysia.
The priestess of
Apollo discovers Orestes as a suppliant in the inner shrine of the god at Delphi, and fronting him the Erinyes of his mother, a
band of fearsome creatures who, wearied with the pursuit of the fugitive, have
fallen on sleep. Under promise of his support, Apollo bids Orestes flee to Athens, where he shall
submit his case to judgment and be released from his sufferings. The ghost of
Clytaemestra rises to upbraid the sleeping Erinyes because of their neglect,
whereby she is dishonoured among the other dead. Awakened by her taunts, they
revile Apollo for that he has given sanctuary to a polluted man whom they
rightly pursue by reason of their office — to take vengeance on all who shed
kindred blood.
The scene shifts to
Athens, whither his pursuers have tracked their prey. Orestes, clasping the
ancient image of Pallas, implores her protection on the plea that the blood
upon his hands has long since been washed away by sacred rites and that his
presence has worked harm to none who have given him shelter. The Erinyes chant
a hymn to bind the soul of their victim with its maddening spell. In answer to
Orestes’ call, the goddess appears and with the consent of the Erinyes
undertakes to judge the case, not by herself alone but with the assistance of a
chosen number of her best citizens who are to constitute the jury.
The trial opens
with Apollo present as advocate of his suppliant and as representative of Zeus,
whose commands he has merely to set forth in all his oracles. Orestes, he
declares, slew his mother by his express behest. The accused confesses to the
deed but urges in his defence that in killing her husband Clytaemestra killed
his father and that his accusers should justly have taken vengeance upon her. On
their rejecting this argument on the ground that the murderess was not
blood-kin to him she murdered, Orestes denies blood-kinship with his mother; in
which contention he is supported by Apollo, who asserts that the father alone
is the proper parent of the child, the mother being only the nurse of the
implanted seed.
Athena announces
that the court, the first to try a case of homicide, is now established by her
for all time to come. The jury cast their ballots; and the goddess, declaring
that it is her duty to pronounce final judgment on the case, makes known that
her vote is to count for Orestes, who is to win if the ballots are equally
divided. Proclaimed victor by the tie, Orestes quits the scene; his antagonists
threaten to bring ruin on the land that has denied the justice of their cause.
It is the part of Athena by promises of enduring honours to assuage their
anger; and now no longer Spirits of Wrath but Spirits of Blessing, they are
escorted in solemn procession to their sanctuary beneath the Hill of Ares.
THE PRIESTESS OF PYTHIAN APOLLO
[1]
First, in
this prayer of mine, I give the place of highest honor among the gods to the
first prophet, Earth; and after her to Themis, for she was the second to take
this oracular seat of her mother, as legend tells. And in the third allotment,
with Themis’ consent and not by force, another Titan, child of Earth, Phoebe,
took her seat here. She gave it as a birthday gift to Phoebus, who has his name
from Phoebe. Leaving the lake and ridge of Delos, he landed on Pallas’
ship-frequented shores, and came to this region and the dwelling places on Parnassus. The children of Hephaistos, road-builders
taming the wildness of the untamed land, escorted him with mighty reverence.
And at his arrival, the people and Delphus, helmsman and lord of this land,
made a great celebration for him. Zeus inspired his heart with prophetic skill
and established him as the fourth prophet on this throne; but Loxias is the
spokesman of Zeus, his father.
[20]
These are the
gods I place in the beginning of my prayer. And Pallas who stands before the
temple is honored in my words; and I worship the Nymphs where the Corycian rock
is hollow, the delight of birds and haunt of gods. Bromius has held the region
— I do not forget him — ever since he, as a god, led the Bacchantes in war, and
contrived for Pentheus death as of a hunted hare. I call on the streams of
Pleistus and the strength of Poseidon, and highest Zeus, the Fulfiller; and
then I take my seat as prophetess upon my throne. And may they allow me now to
have the best fortune, far better than on my previous entrances. And if there
are any from among the Hellenes here, let them enter, in turn, by lot, as is
the custom. For I prophesy as the god leads.
[
She enters the temple and after a
brief interval returns terror-stricken.
]
[34]
Horrors to
tell, horrors for my eyes to see, have sent me back from the house of Loxias,
so that I have no strength and I cannot walk upright. I am running on hands and
knees, with no quickness in my limbs; for an old woman, overcome with fright,
is nothing, or rather she is like a child.
[39]
I was on my way
to the inner shrine, decked with wreaths; I saw on the center-stone a man
defiled in the eyes of the gods, occupying the seat of suppliants. His hands
were dripping blood; he held a sword just drawn and an olive-branch, from the
top of the tree, decorously crowned with a large tuft of wool, a shining
fleece; for as to this I can speak clearly.
[46]
Before this man
an extraordinary band of women slept, seated on thrones. No! Not women, but
rather Gorgons I call them; and yet I cannot compare them to forms of Gorgons
either. Once before I saw some creatures in a painting, carrying off the feast
of Phineus; but these are wingless in appearance, black, altogether disgusting;
they snore with repulsive breaths, they drip from their eyes hateful drops;
their attire is not fit to bring either before the statues of the gods or into
the homes of men. I have never seen the tribe that produced this company, nor the
land that boasts of rearing this brood with impunity and does not grieve for
its labor afterwards.
[60]
Let what is to come now be the concern
of the master of this house, powerful Loxias himself. He is a prophet of
healing, a reader of portents, and for others a purifier of homes.
[
Exit.
]
[
The interior of
the temple is disclosed. Enter, from the inner sanctuary, Apollo, who takes his
stand beside Orestes at the center-stone. Near the suppliant are the Furies
asleep. Hermes in the background.
]
APOLLO
[64]
No! I will
not abandon you. Your guardian to the end, close by your side or far removed, I
will not be gentle to your enemies. So now you see these mad women overcome;
these loathsome maidens have fallen asleep, old women, ancient children, with
whom no god or man or beast ever mingles. They were even born for evil, since
they live in evil gloom and in Tartarus under the earth, creatures hateful to
men and to the Olympian gods. Nevertheless, escape and do not be cowardly. For
as you go always over the earth that wanderers tread, they will drive you on,
even across the wide mainland, beyond the sea and the island cities. Do not
grow weary too soon, brooding on this labor, but when you have come to Pallas’
city, sit down and hold in your arms her ancient image. And there, with judges
of your case and speeches of persuasive charm, we shall find means to release
you completely from your labors. For I persuaded you to take your mother’s
life.
ORESTES
[85]
Lord
Apollo, you know how to do no wrong; and, since you know this, learn not to be
neglectful also. For your power to do good is assured.
APOLLO
[88]
Remember,
do not let fear overpower your heart. You, Hermes, my blood brother, born of
the same father, watch over him; true to your name, be his guide, shepherding
this suppliant of mine — truly Zeus respects this right of outlaws — as he is
sped on towards mortals with the fortune of a good escort.
[
Exit. Orestes
departs escorted by Hermes. The Ghost of Clytaemestra appears.
]
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[94]
Sleep on! Aha!
Yet what need is there of sleepers? It is due to you that I am thus dishonored
among the other dead; because of those I killed the dead never cease to
reproach me, and I wander in disgrace. I tell you that I am most greatly
accused by them. And yet, although I have suffered cruelly in this way from my
nearest kin, no divine power is angry on my behalf, slaughtered as I have been
by the hands of a matricide. See these gashes in my heart, and from where they
came! For the sleeping mind has clear vision, but in the daytime the fate of
mortals is unforeseeable.
[106]
Truly, you have
lapped up many of my offerings — wineless libations, a sober appeasement; and I
have sacrificed banquets in the solemn night upon a hearth of fire at an hour
unshared by any god. I see all this trampled under foot. But he has escaped and
is gone, like a fawn; lightly indeed, from the middle of snares, he has rushed
away mocking at you. Hear me, since I plead for my life, awake to
consciousness, goddesses of the underworld! For in a dream I, Clytaemestra, now
invoke you.
CHORUS
[120]
(whine) [
The
Chorus begins to move uneasily, uttering a whining sound.
]
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[120]
Whine, if
you will! But the man is gone, fled far away. For he has friends that are not
like mine!
CHORUS
[122]
(whine) [
The
Chorus continues to whine.
]
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[122]
You are
too drowsy and do not pity my suffering. Orestes, the murderer of me, his
mother, is gone!
CHORUS
[124]
(moan) [
The
Chorus begins to moan.
]
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[124]
You moan,
you drowse — will you not get up at once? Is it your destiny to do anything
other than cause harm?
CHORUS
[126]
(moan) [
The
Chorus continues to moan.
]
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[127]
Sleep and
toil, effective conspirators, have destroyed the force of the dreadful
dragoness.
CHORUS
[129]
[
With
whining redoubled and intensified.
] Catch him! Catch him! Catch him! Catch
him! Look sharp!
GHOST OF CLYTAEMESTRA
[131]
In a dream
you are hunting your prey, and are barking like a dog that never leaves off its
keenness for the work. What are you doing? Get up; do not let fatigue overpower
you, and do not ignore my misery because you have been softened by sleep. Sting
your heart with merited reproaches; for reproach becomes a spur to the
right-minded. Send after him a gust of bloody breath, shrivel him with the
vapor, the fire from your guts, follow him, wither him with fresh pursuit!
[
The Ghost of
Clytaemestra disappears; the Furies, roused by their leader, awake one after
the other.
]
CHORUS
[140]
Awake!
Wake her up, as I wake you. Still asleep? Get up, shake off sleep, let us see
if any part of this beginning is in vain. Oh, oh! Alas! We have suffered,
friends. Indeed I have suffered much and all in vain. We have suffered very
painfully, oh! an unbearable evil. The beast has escaped from our nets and is
gone. Overcome by sleep, I have lost my prey.
[149]
Oh! Child of
Zeus, you have become a thief — you, a youth, have ridden down old divinities —
by showing respect to your suppliant, a godless man and cruel to a parent;
although you are a god, you have stolen away a man that killed his mother. What
is there here that anyone shall call just?
[155]
Reproach, coming
to me in a dream, struck me like a charioteer with goad held tight, under my
heart, under my vitals. I can feel the cruel, the very cruel chill of the
executioner’s destroying scourge.
[162]
They do such
things, the younger gods, who rule, wholly beyond justice, a throne dripping
blood, about its foot, about its head. I can see the center-stone of the earth
defiled with a terrible pollution of blood.
[169]
Although he is a
prophet, he has stained his sanctuary with pollution at its hearth, at his own
urging, at his own bidding; against the law of the gods, he has honored mortal
things and caused the ancient allotments to decay.
[174]
And he brings
distress to me too, but he shall not win his release; even if he escapes
beneath the earth, he is never set free. A suppliant, he will acquire another
avenger from his family.
[
Enter Apollo
from the inner sanctuary.
]
APOLLO
[179]
Out, I
order you! Go away from this house at once, leave my prophetic sanctuary, so
that you may not be struck by a winged glistening snake shot forth from a
golden bow-string, and painfully release black foam, vomiting the clots of
blood you have drained from mortals. It is not right for you to approach this
house; no, your place is where the punishments are beheading, gouging out of
eyes, cutting of throats, and where young men’s virility is ruined by
destruction of seed; where there is mutilation and stoning, and where those who
are impaled beneath their spine moan long and piteously. Do you hear what sort
of feast is your delight? You are detested by the gods for it. The whole
fashion of your form sets it forth. Creatures like you should live in the den
of a blood-drinking lion, and not inflict pollution on all near you in this
oracular shrine. Be gone, you goats without a herdsman! No god loves such a
flock.
CHORUS
[198]
Lord
Apollo, hear our reply in turn. You yourself are not partially guilty of this
deed; you alone have done it all, and are wholly guilty.
APOLLO
[201]
What do
you mean? Draw out the length of your speech this much.
CHORUS
[202]
Through
your oracle, you directed the stranger to kill his mother.
APOLLO
[203]
Through my
oracle, I directed him to exact vengeance for his father. What of it?
CHORUS
[204]
And then
you agreed to take the fresh blood on yourself.
APOLLO
[205]
And I
ordered him to turn for expiation to this house.
CHORUS
[206]
And do you
then rebuke us, the ones who escorted him here?
APOLLO
[207]
Yes, for
you are not fit to approach this house.
CHORUS
[208]
But this
has been assigned to us —
APOLLO
[209]
What is
this office of yours? Boast of your fine privilege!
CHORUS
[210]
We drive
matricides from their homes.
APOLLO
[211]
But what
about a wife who kills her husband?
CHORUS
[212]
That would
not be murder of a relative by blood.
APOLLO
[213]
Then truly
you dishonor and bring to nothing the pledges of Hera, the Fulfiller, and Zeus.
Cypris too is cast aside, dishonored by this argument, and from her come the
dearest things for mortals. For marriage ordained by fate for a man and a woman
is greater than an oath and guarded by Justice. If, then, one should kill the
other and you are so lenient as not to punish or visit them with anger, I claim
that you unjustly banish Orestes from his home. For I see you taking the one
cause very much to heart, but clearly acting more leniently about the other.
But the goddess Pallas will oversee the pleadings in this case.
CHORUS
[225]
I will
never, never leave that man!
APOLLO
[226]
Pursue him
then and get more trouble for yourself.
CHORUS
[227]
Do not cut
short my privileges by your words.
APOLLO
[228]
I would
not take your privileges as a gift.
CHORUS
[229]
No, for in
any case you are called great at the throne of Zeus. But as for me — since a
mother’s blood leads me, I will pursue my case against this man and I will hunt
him down.
[
Exeunt.
]
APOLLO
[232]
And I will
aid my suppliant and rescue him! For the wrath of the one who seeks purification
is terrible among mortals and gods, if I intentionally abandon him.
[
Enters the
Sanctuary. The scene changes to Athens, before the temple of Athena. Enter
Hermes with Orestes, who embraces the ancient image of the goddess.
]