EURIPIDES
EURIPIDES
EURIPIDES
IPHIGENEIA IN AULIS
(ІΦІΓΕΝΕΙΑ Η ΕΝ ΑΥΛІΔΙ)
Translated by
Carl R. Mueller
1
CAST OF CHARACTERS
2
IPHIGENEIA IN AULIS
Before dawn.
Aulis on the island of Euboia.
The harbor.
Outside the war tent of Agamemnon.
Enter AGAMEMNON pacing indecisively.
Music.
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
Come out, old man.
In front of the tent.
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
I’m waiting!
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
What’s that star
sailing the night sky?
3
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
What a blazer!
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
Still riding high.
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
Nothing moving.
No sound.
No birds, no sea.
All still. Winds
along the Euripos
moving silently.
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
Old man, I envy you.
I do. I envy any man
who slips through life
unnoticed, without fame.
It’s men with power and
authority I don’t envy.
4
OLD MAN: (Chants.)
But they’re the ones
who live the good life.
AGAMEMNON: (Chants.)
Good? That? No!
It’s a trap!
It’s deadly!
Honors don’t come easy.
Sweet as honey at first,
till you taste the poison.
Glory is pain to the
man who wins it.
5
That one there,
there in your hand.
Then you rub out
what you’ve written,
write it again, then
rub it out once more.
And the seal!
One minute on,
one minute off,
then throw it to the ground,
tears flooding your eyes,
a river of tears.
O my king,
I’m a loyal servant,
I keep secrets, you know that.
And I’ve been with you
since you married.
Came with the bride, with
Klytaimnêstra, from the
house of Tyndareos,
part of the dowry.
You remember?
And served you well,
if I say so myself.
(Music out.)
AGAMEMNON:
Lêda the daughter of Thestios had
three daughters:
Phoibê, my wife
Klytaimnêstra, and
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Helen.
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And so it did.
And there’s the misery of it.
Her love made the worst possible
choice.
Menelaos.
My brother.
Time passed.
A beautiful man.
He came as friend,
but left an enemy.
For Paris loved Helen, and
Helen, Paris, and one day,
Menelaos being away,
Paris stole off with
Helen back to Troy
and its pleasant pastures.
8
a thousand strong lined up in the
bay.
Something to do.
Well.
Nothing moving.
No ship, no sail.
9
This and this alone, according to Kalchas,
would send our ships’ sails
bellying onward to Troy,
and the city would fall before us.
10
This letter you see me sealing and
unsealing
under cover of darkness, old man,
take it now,
take it and hurry to Argos.
OLD MAN:
Yes, read it. That way my words
and yours will agree.
(Music.)
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
“Klytaimnêstra,
this
letter
cancels the last
you received from me.
Do not send your
daughter to
Aulis.
The wind has died,
no waves strike the
shore the sea is so
calm. We’ll find a
better
time
for our daughter’s
wedding.”
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a storm in the camp
against you and your wife.
What will you
tell him?
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
We’ve used his
name is all.
He knows nothing,
nothing of a
wedding,
a bride, a plan,
my willingness to
give him my
child in
marriage.
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
OIMOIIIIIIII!
I’m loosing my mind!
You’re right!
My world
reeling
around me,
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heading me
straight to my
ruin!
AIIIIIII!
Go! Hurry!
Run!
Forget your old legs!
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
No stopping at springs
to rest or sleep.
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
Check every
fork
in the road.
No chariot gets
past you with my
daughter in it
bringing her to
Aulis.
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
If she’s left
home,
and you meet
her carriage on the way,
turn them
back,
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turn them, even if
you take the reins
yourself, turn them
back to the
safety of
Mykenê’s walls
the Cyclopes built.
AGAMEMNON: (Sings.)
The seal on the
letter.
They’ll know it.
Keep it safe.
Go now.
Day is breaking,
the sun’s
chariot
brings fire to the
sky.
Go.
You have a duty.
You can save me.
14
(Exit AGAMEMNON into the tent.)
(Enter the CHORUS OF YOUNG WOMEN OF CHALKIS.)
(Music. Song. Dance.)
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in sacrifice to the goddess.
And running,
I blush,
my cheeks like fire,
burning with the feverish shyness
of a young wife’s desire to see at last
the manly defense of the massed forces,
shields and armor and war tents,
and men,
strong men,
in their bare-legged beauty,
and horseflesh sweating with exertion.
I see the two Aiases,
the son of Oïleus,
and Telamon’s son,
the pride of Salamis.
And Protesilaos and Palamêdes,
Poseidon’s grandson,
sit together over a game of draughts,
lost in some difficult move.
And there is Diomêdes
showing his muscles at discus,
with Mêrionês,
Arês’ son,
beside him,
watching a marvel among men.
And Odysseus,
Laërtês’ son,
from his mountainous island,
and Nireus,
the most beautiful of all the Greeks.
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fleet-footed hero Achilleus,
racing hard on the curved track,
lap after lap,
straining for victory.
The charioteer shouted at his beautiful horses,
bridles and bits chased with gold;
the yoked pair,
dappled with gray in white manes,
the trace-horses bays with dappled fetlocks.
Pherês’ grandson Eumêlos goaded them on,
urging, shouting,
faster, faster,
trace-horses hugging the curves,
but Achilleus running in all his armor
never lagged,
never fell behind the rail and the axles.
OLD MAN:
Menelaos, stop! You have no right!
MENELAOS:
Get away from me! You’re too loyal to your master!
OLD MAN:
There are some might think that a virtue!
MENELAOS:
I’ll show you what it means to meddle!
OLD MAN:
You shouldn’t have broken the seal on that letter!
MENELAOS:
And you had no right to have such a letter!
A threat to every Greek life here!
OLD MAN:
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Argue that with others! Give it back!
MENELAOS:
I won’t!
OLD MAN:
Then I won’t let go!
MENELAOS:
I’ll bloody your head for your insolence!
OLD MAN:
Do it! It’s an honor to die for my master!
MENELAOS:
Big words for a slave! Let go!
OLD MAN:
Master! Help! Help!
He stole your letter!
We’re being robbed! Help!
AGAMEMNON:
Here! What’s the meaning of this! Brawling?
MENELAOS:
I have a better right to be heard than he!
AGAMEMNON:
What’s the quarrel, Menelaos?
Why this violence?
MENELAOS:
I’ll tell you!
Just first look me in the eye!
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AGAMEMNON:
Look you in the eye?
Do you think I’m afraid?
I’m a son of Atreus.
MENELAOS:
All right!
This letter!
This is treason!
AGAMEMNON:
That letter—give it back to me.
MENELAOS:
Not till every Greek here knows what it says!
AGAMEMNON:
Really?
You broke the seal?
Then you know what you have no
business to know.
MENELAOS:
Oh, I broke the seal, all right. And
you’re the one to suffer for this betrayal.
AGAMEMNON:
How did you find the old man?
Gods, the impudence!
MENELAOS:
I was watching for your daughter’s arrival.
AGAMEMNON:
Who gave you that right?
Who are you to meddle in my affairs?
You impudent bastard!
MENELAOS:
I’m not your slave! I do as I choose!
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AGAMEMNON:
Bastard! It’s my family! I’ll do as I like!
MENELAOS:
No, you’re not to be trusted.
You’re steady as a mudslide.
AGAMEMNON:
How clever you are with your slanderous,
slippery tongue.
MENELAOS:
And you with your unsteady, wavering mind?
How difficult it must be to be just and
open, especially to friends.
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power was in your grip, you whistled a
different tune.
No more Mr. Friendly to one-time friends.
No wind.
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Me.
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zero.
AGAMEMNON:
It’s my turn now to criticize you.
The only difference,
I’ll be briefer and a bit more
restrained;
no huffing and puffing, no
bulging, bloodshot eyes, no
reeling off barefaced lies.
Brother to brother should be a respectful exchange,
sensible,
plainspoken.
Good men are considerate of one another.
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what’s your problem?
Are you burning for a virtuous wife?
Can’t help you there, I’m afraid.
You made an awful mess with the one you had.
But, then,
a degenerate man toadies to
degenerate pleasures.
And if I happen to make a mistake, and
later take measures to correct it,
does that make me a
madman?
Madness, too.
Make no mistake:
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Blind Hope brought them to Aulis
and not any military might of yours.
So take them!
Go fight your war!
Those men out there are just
stupid enough to follow you.
So.
MENELAOS:
AIIIIIIII!
Then I have no friends!
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AGAMEMNON:
You have, when you don’t set out to destroy them!
MENELAOS:
I thought we were brothers! When will you show it?
AGAMEMNON:
Brothers in sanity, not in madness!
MENELAOS:
Brothers share everything, even sorrow!
AGAMEMNON:
Than act like a brother, instead of hurting me!
MENELAOS:
Your country needs you, now!
AGAMEMNON:
But Greece, like you, is infected by some mad god!
MENELAOS:
All right, you’re the general,
strut your peacock’s pride!
I’ll make other plans with other friends.
And I know where they are.
SOLDIER:
Agamemnon,
king and commander of the allied armies!
I’ve brought them, sir!
Iphigeneia your daughter,
and your wife Klytaimnêstra!
And with them your infant son,
Orestês.
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Your wife said you’d been gone from
home for so long, it would please you to
see him again.
“Is it a wedding?
What’s going on? Did the
general miss her so much
he sent for her?”
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And then you’ll lead the procession
around the altar. And wreaths for your
heads, too.
There’s to be a wedding feast!
Flutes piping!
Dancing to make the earth
shake with stamping feet!
Your daughter will be a happy bride today, sir!
AGAMEMNON:
Thank you.
You may leave us.
Let Fortune take its course
and turn out well.
OIMIIIIIIIII!
What do I say?
Where do I begin?
How do I answer
the misery my life has become?
I’m fate’s victim. My every move
outwitted by the cunning of
destiny.
Life is at least livable if you’re
born with no advantage—
a nobody.
And yet they have advantage.
They can give way to their grief, they have
freedom to speak whatever they please.
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Duties! Obligations!
A prison!
O my child,
my poor, dear, innocent child!
Innocent?
No.
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Death, it seems, will soon be her bridegroom.
Not innocent.
MENELAOS:
Brother, give me your hand.
AGAMEMNON:
Here. You’ve won.
The loss is mine.
MENELAOS:
I swear to you, brother,
by Pelops and by his son,
our father, Atreus,
that what I am about to say
comes from my heart,
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unvarnished,
unpremeditated, but simply what I
feel and think—
no more, no less.
A wife?
31
I was rash just now; I acted like a child.
No.
32
No, just a change in heart for the better.
AGAMEMNON:
Thank you, Menelaos.
I never expected to hear such
words from you. You do yourself
honor; it shows your true
nature.
Blood.
Her blood.
My daughter’s.
MENELAOS:
Why? Who can force you to kill her?
AGAMEMNON:
The allied forces of the entire Greek army.
MENELAOS:
Not if you’ve sent her back to Argos.
AGAMEMNON:
I could do that, yes. But it would come out.
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MENELAOS:
Why are you in such fear of the mob?
AGAMEMNON:
Kalchas will spread the word, be sure—the prophecy.
MENELAOS:
The dead don’t talk. That’s easily arranged.
AGAMEMNON:
Then there’s that other. Aren’t you afraid?
MENELAOS:
Who? Tell me. Then I’ll know.
AGAMEMNON:
The slimy son of Sisyphos. He knows it all.
MENELAOS:
Odysseus? He can’t touch us. He’s nobody.
AGAMEMNON:
But he’s cunning. He sides with the mob.
MENELAOS:
He suffers from a disease:
Ambition.
AGAMEMNON:
Can’t you see him now,
circled by the assembled armies,
spinning out the tale:
what Kalchas said, what I promised—
to sacrifice my daughter—
and then reneged on it, betraying even
myself, and them.
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and then slaughter the child!
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blond Eros,
lets fly his arrows of love and desire,
there is one that brings rapture,
the other ruin and confusion.
From this one,
Kypris,
goddess Aphroditê,
from this one,
loveliest of immortals,
protect me,
protect my house and bed.
Let love lie gently on me,
let love come kindly.
Let me know Aphroditê purely,
not in a rage of despair.
You came,
Paris,
to the slopes of Mount Ida,
to Ida where they reared you to tend your cattle,
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herds of white heifers,
playing on your reed-pipe barbarous tunes,
aping the Phrygian pipe of Olympos.
And then they came,
the goddesses came,
all three,
and while the cattle grazed,
the heavy-uddered cattle,
the goddesses revealed their charms,
and you judged whose beauty was greatest.
Your choice was madness,
and madness led you to Greece,
to Helen’s palace,
her ivory palace,
and there you saw Helen,
and Helen saw you,
and she received your love-gift,
and you received hers,
and it is love has brought strife and armies and Greeks
in their proud ships to tear down Troy.
37
FIRST YOUNG WOMAN: (Chants.)
Let us wait here, women.
Let us greet the queen
as she steps from
her chariot.
Don’t let her stumble.
Give her your hands.
Give them gently.
(Music out.)
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I thank you,
thank you for your words.
How kindly spoken.
I will take them as a good omen.
I come here bringing my daughter to her
destiny,
to a marriage that I hope will be happy.
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Carry them into the tent carefully
and set them down.
Come, daughter.
Down from the carriage.
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Now sit here at my feet, child.
And you come, too, Iphigeneia.
Stand beside your mother and show these
women how much I have to be happy for.
IPHIGENEIA:
O mother, I’m sorry,
don’t be angry if I run from you.
I want to be the first to hold him!
O father, I’ve missed you so!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
My lord and revered king,
Agamemnon,
great joy of my life,
you summoned us here to Aulis,
and we are come,
your obedient servants.
IPHIGENEIA:
I want to hug you so badly, father!
I just want to look at you!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
It’s only natural, child.
Of all the children I bore your father,
you always loved him most.
IPHIGENEIA:
I’m so happy to see you, father! It’s been so long!
AGAMEMNON:
And I’m happy, too, my dear. What can I say?
40
IPHIGENEIA:
Dear, dear, father! Thank you for bringing me here!
AGAMEMNON:
Perhaps, my child. I don’t know. We’ll see.
IPHIGENEIA:
But why do you look so troubled? How sad your eyes are.
AGAMEMNON:
A king and army commander has much on his mind.
IPHIGENEIA:
But I want you to forget them. Be with me now.
AGAMEMNON:
I am, my dear, I am—nowhere else.
IPHIGENEIA:
Then smooth away that frown and be happy for me.
AGAMEMNON:
All right. There. How’s that? I couldn’t be happier.
IPHIGENEIA:
And yet I see tears pouring from your eyes.
AGAMEMNON:
Don’t try to understand. It would make me feel worse.
IPHIGENEIA:
Well, then, I’ll talk nonsense to make you laugh!
AGAMEMNON:
O god, how can I bear this!—There’s a good girl.
IPHIGENEIA:
Stay at home with me, father, with your children.
AGAMEMNON:
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I want it so much it tears my heart apart.
IPHIGENEIA:
Then curse the war! Curse Menelaos’ ills!
AGAMEMNON:
What has already ruined me will ruin others.
IPHIGENEIA:
Why have you been stranded so long in this bay?
AGAMEMNON:
Something must happen before we’re allowed to sail.
IPHIGENEIA:
Father, where is this famous town of Troy?
AGAMEMNON:
Where Paris lives. Paris who should never have been born.
IPHIGENEIA:
Will you be going far when you leave me?
AGAMEMNON:
Far? Yes. But we’ll meet again, my child.
IPHIGENEIA:
If only it were proper for me to sail with you!
AGAMEMNON:
You, too, have a long voyage, and you’ll think of your father.
IPHIGENEIA:
Will mother come with me, or will I travel alone?
AGAMEMNON:
Alone, all alone, no mother, no father.
IPHIGENEIA:
Do you mean you’ve found me another home, father?
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AGAMEMNON:
No more questions. You’re a girl. You can’t know everything.
IPHIGENEIA:
Hurry back to me soon, father, when you’re done at Troy.
AGAMEMNON:
There’s a sacrifice I must first make here in Aulis.
IPHIGENEIA:
Yes, with holy rites. Have you planned it out?
AGAMEMNON:
You’ll see. You’ll have a place by the lustral water.
IPHIGENEIA:
And dance for you, father, around the altar?
AGAMEMNON:
How I envy your blessèd ignorance!
Go inside now.
It’s better that young girls not be seen.
But kiss me. Give me your hand.
Your journey will take you from your
father
for a long time.
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for this display of a father’s
grief
at what should be a happy moment.
I’m about to hand over my daughter
to Achilleus to have as his bride.
And then I think of all the pain and
anxiety of raising her and this
parting,
it tears at my heart.
It’s not easy for a father.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I know. I feel it, too.
The same pain,
the same anxiety of loss.
I’ll know it no less than you when I
lead my daughter out into the
sound of wedding
hymns.
I understand.
But time heals.
Time dries tears.
We’ll get used to it.
AGAMEMNON:
Asopos had a daughter. Aigina.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Who married whom? God or a mortal?
AGAMEMNON:
Zeus. Their son was Aiakos, King of Oinone.
44
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And who was the son of Aiakos?
AGAMEMNON:
Pêleus, who married Thetis, the sea-god’s daughter.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Did Zeus give her, or did Pêleus take her despite him?
AGAMEMNON:
Zeus betrothed them and gave the bride in marriage.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And where were they married? Beneath the deep blue sea?
AGAMEMNON:
At the foot of Mount Pêlion, where Cheiron lives.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Cheiron, yes, that’s where the centaurs play.
AGAMEMNON:
And all the gods came to their wedding feast.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Who raised Achilleus, Thetis or his father?
AGAMEMNON:
No, Cheiron. To keep him free of the evils of men.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
A wise teacher, and an even wiser father.
AGAMEMNON:
And this is the man who will be your daughter’s husband.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Excellent, I must say. Where is he from?
45
AGAMEMNON:
Phthia, on the banks of the Apidanos.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Is that where he’ll take our daughter?
AGAMEMNON:
That must be the business of the one who wins her.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I wish them both well. When is the wedding?
AGAMEMNON:
When the moon is full.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Have you sacrificed to the goddess for the girl?
AGAMEMNON:
I will. I was occupied with that when you came.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And following that we hold the wedding feast?
AGAMEMNON:
Yes, after the sacrifice.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And where will I hold the women’s banquet?
AGAMEMNON:
Here beside the sterns of the high ships.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
By the tackle and stinking fish? Whatever you say.
AGAMEMNON:
You know what you must do. I wished you’d do it.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
46
Do? Do what? I do everything you say.
AGAMEMNON:
I’ll stay here in Aulis with the bridegroom, while—
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
While? While what? Where will I be? A mother has duties—
AGAMEMNON:
While you go back to Argos and see to your daughters.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And abandon my child? But who will raise the bridal torch?
AGAMEMNON:
The fire will be lit, you can trust me.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
This is against custom. It demands seriousness.
AGAMEMNON:
An army camp is not the place for a woman!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
It’s a mother’s right to give her children in marriage!
AGAMEMNON:
It’s a mother’s duty to look after her daughters!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
They are being seen to in the women’s quarters!
AGAMEMNON:
Do as I say!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
No!
No, by the sovereign goddess
who reigns in Argos!
47
Very well, husband,
we each have our tasks,
and much to do.
You have much to arrange outside the tent,
and I’ll see to matter inside.
My daughter will have a proper
wedding.
AGAMEMNON:
Will nothing go right?
I try and I try and I fail.
I try to spare her the sight of my onerous
duty,
and it comes to nothing.
I plot, I contrive, I deceive even those
I love most—
and nothing.
(Exit AGAMEMNON.)
(Music. Song. Dance.)
48
their spears and pikes,
to the land Apollo holds dear,
the plains of Troy,
the citadel of Ilion,
where Kassandra tosses her sun-bright hair,
crowned in laurel,
gripped by the god,
by Apollo’s might,
Apollo who drives her reeling, spinning,
into unknown time,
to see the unknown.
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with blood,
death,
destruction,
and Priam’s head will be hacked,
and every Trojan warrior butchered,
every house be brought low.
Then Troy’s women,
then Priam’s wife,
will weep hot tears,
and Zeus’ daughter will know tears,
bitter tears,
for deserting her husband.
I hope never,
never to see,
I hope my children,
my children’s children,
will never behold so dark a day
as will fall on those Lydian women,
wives resplendent in gold,
the women of Troy,
as they sit at their looms,
among themselves,
wailing:
50
to you, daughter of the long-necked swan,
they owe their fate,
these women,
if the story is more than a fable,
that Zeus came to Lêda as a great-winged bird.
Or is it a lying tale without truth,
diversion dreamed up by poets?
(Enter ACHILLEUS.)
(Music out.)
ACHILLEUS:
Is General Agamemnon anywhere near?
If not, where can I find him?
Will one of you slaves go after him,
and tell him that Pêleus’ son Achilleus
is at his tent, waiting to see him.
(Exit a SLAVE.)
51
Well.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Achilleus, son of Thetis,
I heard your voice from inside the tent,
and have come out to greet you.
ACHILLEUS:
And who is this beautiful woman?
So gracious!
So charming!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
We’ve never met;
there’s no way you could
know me.
But I thank you for your courtesy.
ACHILLEUS:
Who are you?
Why have you come?
52
This is no place for a woman.
Fenced in with men in armor,
weapons, shields!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’m Klytaimnêstra, daughter of
Lêda. Agamemnon’s wife.
ACHILLEUS:
Brief and to the point.
But, dear lady, I shouldn’t be seen
talking with a woman.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Wait!
Don’t run off! Don’t be
frightened.
Give me your right hand.
Here’s mine.
A happy prologue to a
happy marriage.
ACHILLEUS:
What must I—?
Touch your hand?
But how could I face Agamemnon
having touched what I should not!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Should not? But, son of
Thetis, you’re marrying
my daughter!
ACHILLEUS:
Marrying your—?
But—!
I don’t understand!
How do I answer this?
Is this some delusion?
53
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’m sorry, I’ve offended you.
I know that men are shy when it comes to
talk of marriage and new relatives.
ACHILLEUS:
Kind lady, I never courted your daughter.
Nor have the sons of Atreus mentioned
marriage.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
If what you say is true, I don’t
understand either. I can well
imagine how shocking my words must be.
Yours are as shocking to me.
ACHILLEUS:
Yes, but we can work this out, I’m sure.
I suspect we’ve both been equally
misled.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Who would have done this to me?
This outrage?
I’m here to arrange a marriage,
but there is no marriage.
Except in my mind, it seems.
I’m deeply ashamed.
ACHILLEUS:
Perhaps we’re both being made
fools of.
I think we’d do best to ignore it.
It’s not important.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’m sorry. I have to leave now.
I can’t face you, I’m so humiliated.
I’ve been made out to be a
liar.
54
ACHILLEUS:
Good-bye, then.
I’ll go in
to see your husband.
(The OLD MAN calls from the half-opened entrance to the tent.)
OLD MAN:
Achilleus, son of Thetis!
Stop!
Wait!
It’s you I’m calling!
And you, daughter of Lêda!
Please!
ACHILLEUS:
Who is that?
Why are you hiding?
He sounds terrified.
OLD MAN:
I’m a slave. It’s true,
so why not say it.
It’s all fortune dealt me.
ACHILLEUS:
A slave? Whose?
Not mine.
We keep our property apart—
Agamemnon and I.
OLD MAN:
No, that lady’s slave.
The lady there with you.
Her father gave me to her once.
ACHILLEUS:
All right, I’m here.
Why did you stop me?
55
OLD MAN:
Is it just the two of you there?
No one else?
ACHILLEUS:
Yes, only the two of us.
Come out.
OLD MAN:
It’s happened,
what I feared!
I pray fortune spare those
I want to save!
ACHILLEUS:
Your message, old man.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
You’re safe. I’ll see to that. Tell us.
OLD MAN:
I’m a friend, lady, to you and your children.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I know you for an old slave of my house.
OLD MAN:
And came to Argos as part of your dowry.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And have been with me ever since.
OLD MAN:
A friend to you, but less a friend to your husband.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Why are you hesitating?
56
OLD MAN:
Your daughter, mistress. Your husband is going to kill her.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What? How dare you! You’re mad!
OLD MAN:
With his own hand. A knife in her white throat.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Stop! Stop, I can’t bear it! Is my husband insane?
OLD MAN:
Just not where you and your child are concerned.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What demon could drive him to such a horror?
OLD MAN:
An oracle, according to Kalchas. So the fleet can sail.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Sail where? How can he do this, how can he kill her?
OLD MAN:
To Troy, for Menelaos to win back Helen.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And for that he kills my daughter?
OLD MAN:
He’s sacrificing her to Artemis.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And the false marriage that brought me here?
OLD MAN:
He knew you’d accept it.
57
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’ve delivered her to death, and her mother, too.
OLD MAN:
I pity you both. This is dreadful.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’m lost. Only tears are left me.
OLD MAN:
Let them come. It’s a bad blow.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Where did you learn this?
OLD MAN:
He sent me with a second letter.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Telling me to bring the girl to her death?
OLD MAN:
Warning you not to. He was in his right mind then.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
But why didn’t you deliver it?
OLD MAN:
Menelaos took it. He caused all this.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Achilleus, do you hear this?
ACHILLEUS:
I hear of your cruel suffering, and the insult to me.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
They’re killing my child.
The marriage was the snare.
Son of Thetis,
58
I’m only a mortal and your
mother is a goddess, so I feel no
shame in falling at your knees.
What good is pride now?
She’s my child.
She’s all that matters. What else can I
do but fight for her?
59
a woman, in a camp of unruly men
ready to commit any
evil.
ACHILLEUS:
Pride rises in me and urges me on.
And yet I learned moderation from my
master,
moderation in grief and triumph,
for such men
live a life of balance and reason.
60
As for you, who have been so cruelly treated
by those who are nearest to you,
I will show you as much pity and
fight for you as roundly as a
soldier’s duty permits.
More than that
I cannot do.
61
and my mother Thetis,
King Agamemnon will lay no hand,
not a finger, on your daughter,
not even to
graze her gown.
62
Let anyone try to take your daughter from me
and this sword will do more than
mirror his reflection.
So, be calm.
I realize I appeared at a difficult time
like some all-powerful god,
even though I’m not one.
But I assure you, to save the girl,
I will become one.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Dear man, how can I ever find words
to praise you that are neither too
much nor too meager, and so
offend you
one way or the other?
Men worthy of praise hate those who
praise them to excess.
63
But that proved an empty hope.
And now my daughter’s death may
serve as an evil omen for your own marriage
whenever it comes,
and that you must guard against.
Everything you said, from first to
last, was nobly said. If you decide
to save her, my child will be
saved.
ACHILLEUS:
No, don’t bring her out.
Better not to invite ignorant
gossip.
Soldiers crammed together,
away from home and domestic
cares, revel in malicious slander and
back-biting filth.
Supplicate me or not, it comes out the same.
My greatest concern is to save you from
disaster.
You may rest assured of one thing:
I don’t lie. And if I do,
if I deceive you,
then may I die.
If I live, she lives;
if she dies, I die.
64
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Fortune bless you for caring for the unfortunate.
ACHILLEUS:
Listen to me. We have to plan.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Listen? You’re my only hope.
ACHILLEUS:
We’ll persuade her father to see reason.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
He’s a coward, he’s afraid of the army.
ACHILLEUS:
Talk to him. Beat down his arguments.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
That’s cold comfort. Tell me what to do.
ACHILLEUS:
Reason with him first,
convince him not to kill the child.
If he refuses, then come to me.
But only then.
For if you persuade him yourself,
there will be no need for
my involvement.
You’ll be safe, as will your daughter.
This way there will be no rift between us,
Agamemnon and me,
we remain friends,
and the army will have no cause for
censure.
I’d have pulled it off by reason
rather than force. This way, things would
turn out well for all of you,
even without my help.
65
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
How wisely you see these matters.
I’ll do as you say.
But what if I don’t succeed?
Where will I
find you? Where shall I come
searching for you in my
misery?
ACHILLEUS:
I’ll be there when you need me.
Above all,
you mustn’t be seen
rushing through the troops
frantically searching me out.
Do nothing to disgrace your father’s
house.
Tyndareos was a great man in Greece,
don’t shame his
honor.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Whatever you say.
I trust you.
If there are gods, you’ll be rewarded.
If not,
then what does any of this matter?
(Exeunt KLYTAIMNÊSTRA and the OLD MAN into the tent and ACHILLEUS to
his camp.)
(Music. Song. Dance.)
66
when the Muses, the Muses came dancing,
dancing, stomping,
stomping in sandals of gold,
dancing,
rejoicing to the feast of the gods,
and their voices rang out through the groves and glens,
through the centaurs’ mountain home,
rang in praise of Thetis and the son of Aiakos.
And there,
drawing wine from golden bowls,
Dardanos’ son,
the favorite, loved plaything of Zeus’ bed,
nubile Ganymede,
Phrygian Ganymede,
while on the shore,
along the bright sands,
the fifty Nereïds in celebration,
Nêreus’ daughters danced their whirling,
weaving dance.
67
Cheiron reads
Apollo’s
oracles.
He will come one day
leading his Myrmidons,
armed with spear and
great bronze
shield,
armed himself in
war-gear of gold,
fashioned by Hephaistos,
fire-god,
his mother’s gift,
Thetis’ gift to her warrior
son who will set Troy’s
citadel
ablaze.”
68
now blasphemy rules,
now anarchy leads,
and lawlessness wins the day?
Where is fear of the gods
when the gods are dismissed?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Where could he be?
I’ve come out looking for him.
He went out some time ago
and hasn’t returned.
My daughter has learned, poor child,
that her father plans to kill her.
She’s
shaken to the core with sobbing and tears.
Ah, but here he comes. He’ll soon stand
convicted of planning an
evil act
against his child.
(Enter AGAMEMNON.)
AGAMEMNON:
Ah, daughter of Lêda, how convenient
to find you here.
I have matters to discuss.
Better if the bride doesn’t hear.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And what would these matters be?
AGAMEMNON:
No—
call her from the tent.
Say her father wants her.
The lustral waters are prepared,
as is the barley to cast into the
69
flame.
The cattle stand ready, too, that must
spill their dark blood to Artemis
before the marriage.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What honeyed words, husband.
But there are no words vile enough
for your plan.
Very well.
AGAMEMNON:
Child, why are you weeping?
Where’s that smile I know?
Why are you hiding your
face with your robe,
your eyes cast down?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Where do I begin?
Where do I start my tale
of misery and distress?
It is bitter grief throughout:
beginning, middle, end.
AGAMEMNON:
What is it?
What?
70
Why are you all looking at me
with such pain and distress?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Husband,
try to be honorable for once,
and answer like a man.
AGAMEMNON:
You have no cause
to speak to me that way.
Ask your question.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Is it your intention to kill our daughter?
AGAMEMNON:
How dare you!
These vile suspicions!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Answer the question.
AGAMEMNON:
Ask a reasonable question, I’ll answer!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Answer. This is the one I’m asking.
AGAMEMNON:
O gods! Why is everything against me?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And against me—
and her!
All three of us!
AGAMEMNON:
How have you been wronged?
71
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
How can you ask that?
Have you lost your mind?
AGAMEMNON:
And so I’m ruined.
I’ve been betrayed.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I know it all.
Everything.
I know what you’re about to do.
Your silence alone condemns you.
Don’t waste your breath.
AGAMEMNON:
No more words.
Why add lies
that only enlarge my disgrace?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
You’ll listen to me now.
And no more riddles, no more
words doubling back and
back on themselves,
but just plain talk—
the truth.
72
to war against you.
They saved me from you.
But you crawled,
tail between your legs,
to beg protection from my old father,
Tyndareos,
and he rescued you.
No.
73
The life of an innocent child
for the life of a whore.
Buying back what we loathe
with what we love most.
Tell me.
What prayers will fall from your lips
when you kill her?
What blessing will you call down on yourself
as you butcher your child?
74
A homecoming to match the shame of your
setting out?
And what am I to pray for?
A blessing on your head?
No.
75
His own, his dear, beloved Hermionê.
A pawn in his game to win back whorish Helen.
But no,
it’s my child who will be ripped from my arms,
mine, despite my faithfulness to you,
while she who made a sty of her husband’s bed
will have her daughter safe at home in Sparta,
and be happy.
Tell me.
Is there anything I’ve said here that is not true?
If not, and if I speak justly and truly,
then do not kill your daughter,
your daughter and mine.
Prove yourself a man of wisdom and judgment.
IPHIGENEIA:
If I had the gift of Orpheus, father,
a voice whose song had the
power to charm even stones to
rise up and
follow him; if I had words to
persuade anyone of anything,
I’d use them,
I would use all my arts.
But my only art at this moment is my tears.
I offer them to you.
I press my body against your knees
like a torn suppliant’s branch,
the body that this woman once bore you.
76
Don’t force me to face the gloom in
Death’s Dark Kingdom.
I remember,
remember it all, but you’ve
forgotten and now want to kill me.
77
Look at me.
No, in my eyes.
Kiss me.
At least
I’ll have that to remember as I’m dying,
if you refuse to listen.
Little brother,
too small to be any help to your friends,
weep with me, cry out to your father
not to kill your sister.
You see?
Even babies sense the injustice of life.
He has no words,
but still he pleads with you.
Be merciful.
Pity me.
Don’t kill me.
Both of us beg you,
our hands at your chin,
your dears, one just a baby,
the other a grown girl.
Well.
78
You and your shameful love have caused
the deadly struggle between the
sons of Atreus
and their children.
AGAMEMNON:
I know what is pitiable,
and I know what is not.
I love my children. I would be a
madman if I didn’t.
It is as terrible, wife, to do what I
must do,
as not to do it, but do it I must,
I have no choice.
79
accomplish,
no, but the will of Greece.
(Exit AGAMEMNON.)
(Music. Song. Dance.)
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA: (Chants.)
O child, daughter,
women, her death
destroys me.
Your father, child,
your father has deserted you
and leaves you to die.
IPHIGENEIA: (Chants.)
The same sad
song of misery
serves us both.
The sound,
the song of
weeping.
The sun’s
sweet light,
the light
of
day,
80
are no
longer mine.
(Sings.)
IOOOO!
IOOOO!
O unhappy
snowbound
valley of
Phrygia,
unhappy
slopes of
Ida,
Ida where
once Priam,
Troy’s king,
cast out his son,
the tender baby,
Paris,
Paris torn
rudely from his
mother’s breast,
Paris left
to
die,
Priam’s child,
known in
time, known
in Troy at
his return,
as the son
of Ida,
Paris of
Ida,
left to die
on Ida’s
slopes.
If only,
81
o
if only that
herdsman
had never
found,
never
raised him,
Paris of Ida,
to tend his
oxen on
Ida’s
slopes,
to tend his
herds in
meadows,
lush
meadows,
where waters
sparkle, and
springs
gush
bright from
the earth,
fountains
of the
Nymphs,
meadows
alive with
flowers,
where
roses
and
hyacinths
grow to be
gathered by
goddesses.
It was here
one day that
Athêna
82
came,
and devious
Aphroditê,
and Hera
and Hermês,
messenger of
Zeus.
Aphroditê,
proud of the
lust she
wakens,
Athêna, proud
of her martial
spear, and
Hera proud
of Zeus’
bed.
These three
came,
came for a
judgment, a
deadly
judgment,
a contest
in
beauty
that meant
my
death,
but for the
Greeks
glory and
renown.
And this,
this is the
offering to
Artemis,
the sacrifice,
my life
for a wind
83
to Troy.
O mother,
he has
left me,
my father has
left me,
deserted,
betrayed me.
And Helen,
cursed
Helen,
I curse you,
curse you,
Helen
who has
cost me
my life,
killed
by my
father, my
ungodly
father,
by my father’s
ungodly
knife.
And I
curse you,
Aulis,
for your
welcoming
bay,
safe
harbor
for the
bronze-beaked
ships,
proud
fleet
84
speeding
the Greeks
to Troy.
And
Zeus
I curse for
winds of
no
help;
Zeus and
his treasury
of winds:
for one
a fair
wind
to billow
his sails;
for another
a stern wind
to drop
his
sails;
some set
sail, and
some make
port.
Others are
cursed with
waiting,
waiting.
(Music out.)
IPHIGENEIA:
Mother! Mother,
85
there are men coming!
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And Achilleus, child, son of the
sea-goddess, Achilleus, in whose
name you came here.
IPHIGENEIA:
I want to hide, mother.
Open the doors.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
But, child, why?
IPHIGENEIA:
I’m ashamed to see him.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Why?
IPHIGENEIA:
The marriage. This doomed,
hopeless marriage.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
This is no time for delicacy.
Stay. Don’t be shy.
We do what we can.
ACHILLEUS:
Unhappy daughter of Lêda—
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Yes, unhappy—
ACHILLEUS:
The Greeks. They’re shouting. Terrible things.
86
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
About what?
ACHILLEUS:
Your daughter.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I know what’s coming.
ACHILLEUS:
They demand she be slaughtered.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And no one defends her?
ACHILLEUS:
They’re shouting about me, too.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What? Tell me.
ACHILLEUS:
“Stone him to death!”
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
For defending my daughter?
ACHILLEUS:
For that.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Who would dare such a thing?
ACHILLEUS:
Every Greek out there.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And your own men? Your Myrmidons?
87
ACHILLEUS:
They were the first to turn on me.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Dear child, we’re lost.
ACHILLEUS:
They called me the slave of my hoped-for marriage.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And how did you answer?
ACHILLEUS:
That they were not to kill my bride.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And you were right.
ACHILLEUS:
That Agamemnon had promised her.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
And had her brought from Argos.
ACHILLEUS:
The force of their shouts drowned me out.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
A mob is a monstrous thing.
ACHILLEUS:
I’ll defend you all the same.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Against the whole army? Single-handed?
ACHILLEUS:
Do you see these men with my armor?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
88
Bless you, but—
ACHILLEUS:
I’ll earn that blessing.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Will my daughter not be sacrificed?
ACHILLEUS:
Not without my consent.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Will they come to take her?
ACHILLEUS:
Hordes of them, led on by Odysseus.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
On orders or by his own choice?
ACHILLEUS:
The men chose him, but he was pleased.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
A vile man to do a vile thing.
ACHILLEUS:
I’ll stop him.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Will he drag her away by force?
ACHILLEUS:
By her golden hair.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What will I do?
ACHILLEUS:
Hang on. Don’t let go of her.
89
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
That’s all? And she won’t die?
ACHILLEUS:
The least we can expect is a struggle.
IPHIGENEIA:
Mother, listen to me;
listen to me both of you.
You, mother, are angry with your husband.
But that shouldn’t be;
it makes no sense:
it’s no easy task to fight the
inevitable.
And it’s right we thank this stranger
for his generous and courageous heart.
90
and whether Troy is
destroyed.
91
sacrificed,
I’m only mortal,
who am I to oppose the goddess?
That must never happen.
My life belongs to Greece.
ACHILLEUS:
Daughter of Agamemnon,
if I won you for my wife,
I would know that some god chose
to make me happy.
I envy Greece.
You belong to Greece and Greece to you,
and both are blessed.
92
Necessity.
IPHIGENEIA:
What I say now I say in fear of no one.
Helen’s beauty has stirred up enough
strife,
and will cause battles and murders
because of her body.
But as for you, stranger,
promise me you will kill no one,
nor be killed yourself,
for the sake of me.
Allow me to save Greece if that is my
mission.
ACHILLEUS:
What a noble spirit! It puts me to shame.
What more can I say? You’ve chosen, and
chosen from a courageous
heart.
Why should a man not confess it?
And yet, it may be, you’ll think
differently.
So listen to my plan.
93
I’ll place my arms close by the altar.
I refuse to let you die.
And when the knife is at your throat,
if you think differently than you
do at this moment, accept my offer.
I won’t let you die because of
one reckless impulse.
IPHIGENEIA:
Mother, why these tears?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
This sorrow in my heart.
IPHIGENEIA:
Don’t make me a coward. Do as I say.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I won’t fail you.
IPHIGENEIA:
Don’t cut your hair or dress in mourning.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
But I’ll have lost you.
IPHIGENEIA:
No. I’ll be saved. My name is your glory.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
But how can I not mourn you?
IPHIGENEIA:
Not one tear. I won’t have a grave.
94
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
But we mourn the dead, not the tomb.
IPHIGENEIA:
The goddess’ altar will be my tomb.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Yes, I’ll do as you say.
IPHIGENEIA:
I’m happy. I’ll have saved Greece.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What shall I tell your sisters?
IPHIGENEIA:
Good-bye. And raise up Orestês to splendid manhood.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Hug him now. The last time.
IPHIGENEIA:
Sweet boy, you helped the best you could.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
What can I do to please you in Argos?
IPHIGENEIA:
Don’t hate father. He’s your husband.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
He’ll run a fearful race because of you.
IPHIGENEIA:
He had no choice. He killed me to save Greece.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
He killed you by treachery. Cowardice unworthy of Atreus.
95
IPHIGENEIA:
Will someone lead me there before they drag me?
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I’ll be with you.
IPHIGENEIA:
No, that wouldn’t be right.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Holding tight to your robes.
IPHIGENEIA:
No, mother, please.
Please stay here. It’s better for both of us.
Father’s slaves will lead me to the meadow
where I’m to be slaughtered.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Child, you’re not going—?
IPHIGENEIA:
Never to come back.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Leaving your mother?
IPHIGENEIA:
Yes, with hope in my heart.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
No. Don’t leave me—
IPHIGENEIA:
There must be no tears.
And you, young women,
raise a hymn of rejoicing to
Artemis,
a song in praise of my fate to virgin
96
Artemis, Zeus’ daughter.
Let there be silence throughout the camp.
Lead me.
(One of the SLAVE ATTENDANTS takes her hand and begins to lead IPHIGENEIA
off.)
(Music. Song. Dance.)
(Sings.)
Lead the
destroyer, the
conqueror of
Troy,
I who will
tear down
the fabled
towers of
Ilion.
Bring me,
bring me
garlands,
garlands to
wreath my head.
And water,
streams of
water,
purifying
waters.
Dance your
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dances, women,
dance for
Artemis,
around her
temple,
dance,
dance around
her altar,
virgin
Artemis,
blessèd
Artemis,
dance in
honor of
Artemis.
With my
blood I will
wash away,
wash, if I
must,
wash
the oracle
out of our
path.
Dear, dear
mother,
dearest of
mothers,
I can
give you
no tears,
no
tears.
Tears are
not meant
for the altar
of
Artemis,
not meant
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for holy
rites.
Sing, women,
sing in
praise of
Artemis,
whose
temple looks
eastward
to Chalkis,
to
Chalkis
across the
strait, where
warships wait
in the narrows
of
Aulis,
and men
burn,
burn for a
wind to
begin the
end,
the destruction,
the fall
of
Troy,
because
of me.
O Argos
that bore me!
Mykenê,
my home!
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the Cyclopes-built
city.
Praise to the city of
Perseus.
IPHIGENEIA: (Sings.)
You raised me
to be a
beacon of
hope.
My death
is a
light
in the
darkness.
IPHIGENEIA: (Sings.)
Bright
radiance of
Zeus,
farewell.
Great star
of day that
lights the
earth,
farewell.
Another
destiny is
mine,
another
life.
Farewell
dear light,
dear
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light
I love.
Great Artemis
who delights in this
human slaughter,
send them on,
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send them to Troy,
the army to Troy,
to deceitful,
treacherous Troy,
and there let Agamemnon
crown Greek spears
with victory,
garlands of triumph,
and to his own glory
win undying fame.
SLAVE ATTENDANT:
Daughter of Tendareos,
Klytaimnêstra,
come out of the tent,
I have news.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
I heard your voice. Here I am.
Please, please don’t bring me a worse
disaster than that I already bear.
I can’t endure it.
SLAVE ATTENDANT:
It’s your daughter.
A miracle has happened.
Something strange and wonderful.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA:
Tell me.
SLAVE ATTENDANT:
Belovèd queen and mistress,
I’ll tell you everything as I saw it,
unless words fail me in the reeling
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confusion of my mind.
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called for a reverent silence from the army,
and the prophet Kalchas drew from its
sheath
a whetted knife, placed it in a gold-worked
basket, and
crowned the girl with a garland.
“Goddess Artemis,
daughter of Zeus and slayer of wild
beasts,
goddess of the moon’s great light
in the darkness,
hear our prayer.
Accept this sacrifice which the
army of the Greeks and King Agamemnon
offer to you:
undefiled blood from the throat of a beautiful
virgin.
Grant, now, that our ships may
safely set sail and our weapons
destroy
the looming towers of Troy.”
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my eyes cast to the ground.
And then it happened.
The greatest of wonders.
Kalchas then,
his face radiant with joy and
relief,
shouted out:
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When the fire-god’s flames had
burned the victim to ashes,
Kalchas raised a suitable prayer to
bring the army back safely.
KLYTAIMNÊSTRA: (Chants.)
O my child, what
god has stolen you away?
How am I to speak your
name and know
you will hear?
How do I know, how,
how can I be sure
this is not some lie,
some evil tale,
made up to end my
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cruel grief and
mourning for you?
(Enter AGAMEMNON.)
AGAMEMNON:
Wife, our daughter has given us
reason to rejoice. She’s with the gods.
Now take this young calf of a son of mine
and turn back home.
The army will sail soon.
Good-bye.
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