Quotations from Libation Bearers and The Furies (Peter Meineck translation)
- “And what then becomes of the Oracles of Apollo declared at Delphi, or the unbreakable oaths we took? Better to be hated by every man on earth than hated by the gods.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “Servant women, keepers of the House, my escort in these rites of atonement, now I need your advice… What should I say as I pour these liquids on my father’s tomb? Give me your counsel, dear sisters, we share a bond of common hatred in this house, open your hearts, don’t conceal your thoughts, you need have no fear.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “Ah! Ah! Women, there! Like Gorgons! Black clad, writhing with snakes! I can’t stay here! I have to go!… These terrors are real! The mother’s curse, the hellhounds of hate, they are here!… Lord Apollo! They are coming! Closing in! I can see their eyes dripping with blood!”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “There is no salvation, not from Apollo, or Athena. You will be cast out, adrift, abandoned, your tortured mind will never know happiness, you’ll be food for fiends, a blood-sucked shadow. You refuse to answer? You spit on our words? You are our sacrifice fatted for the feast, you’ll not be slashed at the altar, we’ll eat you alive! Now hear our song, our spellbinding song.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “Now my task is to make the last judgment, and I cast my vote for Orestes. I was born of no mother, and I defer to the male in all things with all my heart, except for marriage, as I will always be the child of my father. Thus, I cannot give precedence to the woman’s death: she murdered her husband, the guardian of the House…”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “I will indulge your anger because you are my elders and in this respect you possess greater wisdom. Here my people will enshrine you on stately throngs next to the house of Erechtheus, and a sacred procession of men and women will grace you with gifts, unsurpassed in the mortal real. Leave your gory grindstones that whet the appetite for blood, and sicken the stomachs of the young with intoxicating ferocity and bloodthirsty rage.. Do good, gain goodness, receive goodly honors and take your share of this land beloved by gods.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “Athena, you have saved my House! I was denied the land of my fathers, but you have restored me to my home. The Greeks will say, ‘The man is Argive again. He holds his father’s House by the grace of Athena and Apollo, ordained by the Savior, Zeus.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “Wait, my child! My son, have you no feelings? This breast once nurtured you, cradled your sleep, your soft mouth sucked the milk that made you strong.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
- “He is in my sacred trust and I will protect him. Gods and men fear nothing more than the rage of a scorned suppliant denied his mercy.”
Who said it?
Pylades/Electra/Apollo/Athena/Orestes/Aegisthus/Chorus/Clytemnestra/Pythia
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