Electra: The self-same death thou didst mete out to her lord Aegisthus.
Orestes: I will go in; 'tis an awful task I undertake; an awful deed
I have to do; still if it is Heaven's will, be it so; I loathe and
yet I love the enterprise. (As Orestes withdraws into the hut, Clytemnestra
enters in a chariot. Her attendants are hand-maidens attired in gorgeous
apparel.)
Chorus: (singing) Hail! Queen of Argos, daughter of Tyndareus, sister
of those two noble sons of Zeus, who dwell in the flame-lit firmament
amid the stars, whose guerdon high it is to save the sailor tossing
on the sea. All hail! because of thy wealth and high prosperity, I
do thee homage as I do the blessed gods. Now is the time, great queen,
for us to pay our court unto thy fortunes.
Clytemnestra: Alight from the car, ye Trojan maids, and take my hand
that I may step down from the chariot. With Trojan spoils the temples
of the gods are decked, but I have obtained these maidens as a special
gift from Troy, in return for my lost daughter, a trifling boon no
doubt, but still an ornament to my house.
Studies
