Paedagogus: Son of him who led our hosts at Troy of old, son of Agamemnon!-
now thou mayest behold with thine eyes all that thy soul hath desired
so long. There is the ancient Argos of thy yearning,- that hallowed
scene whence the gadfly drove the daughter of Inachus; and there,
Orestes, is the Lycean Agora, named from the wolf-slaying god; there,
on the left, Hera's famous temple; and in this place to which we have
come, deem that thou seest Mycenae rich in gold, with the house of
the Pelopidae there, so often stained with bloodshed; whence I carried
thee of yore, from the slaying of thy father, as thy kinswoman, thy
sister, charged me; and saved thee, and reared thee up to manhood,
to be the avenger of thy murdered sire.
Now, therefore, Orestes, and thou, best of friends, Pylades, our plans
must be laid quickly; for lo, already the sun's bright ray is waking
the songs of the birds into clearness, and the dark night of stars
is spent. Before, then, anyone comes forth from the house, take counsel;
seeing that the time allows not of delay, but is full ripe for deeds.
Studies
