'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)
Ihave 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 Iwas 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 Ihave 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,Iknow not how Iam 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 Ibegin?for Imay treat them all as first,or put them last or midway anywhere.
AGAMEMNON
How now?Ifind you all alike,confusion and alarm in every eye.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My husband,answer frankly the questions Iask thee.
AGAMEMNON
There is no necessity to order me;Iam 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
Ihave no other questions to put;give me no other answers.
AGAMEMNON
Ofate revered,Odestiny,and fortune mine!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Aye,and mine and this maid's too;the three share one bad fortune.
AGAMEMNON
Whom have Iinjured?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Dost thou ask me this question?Athought like that itself amounts to thoughtlessness.
AGAMEMNON
Ruined!my secret out!
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Iknow all;Ihave 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!Iam silent;for,if Itell thee a falsehood,needs must Iadd effrontery to misfortune.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Well,listen;for Iwill 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 Ihave 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.
