by Aeschylus
6 / 5 by her own choice and not by force Aeschylus explicitly rejects the standard account, in which Apollo used force to capture Delphi from a chthonic predecessor, usually the monstrous serpent Pytho, occasionally Earth or Themis. See further Introduction, pp. 22–23. This picture of peaceful succession helps bridge the gap between the violence of the past (the succession of crimes in the house of Atreus; the violent overthrow of Zeus’ predecessors, leaving them unnamed and without honor [Agamemnon, 189–99 / 168–75]) and the more pacific order to come (Orestes’ acquittal and the end of the curse on the house; the reconciliation of Olympian and chthonic deities, with continued powers and honors given to the latter).
7 / 7 Phoebe Not otherwise associated with Delphi, Phoebe is apparently given her place here to make the picture of harmonious relations among the generations and orders of divinity more complete. In addition to being Themis’ sister in the Titan generation, Phoebe was Leto’s mother (Hesiod, Theogony 404–6), and thus Apollo’s grandmother. Aeschylus also establishes an etymological connection between the cult name Phoebus (“bright one”) and Delphi, since he has Apollo adopt it in gratitude for Phoebe’s gift.
12 / 10 the ship-hive coast of Pallas I.e., the coast of Attica, whose patron god is Pallas Athena. This version of Apollo’s journey seems designed to honor Athens (cf. note on 14); a number of other sources have him landing in Boeotia, to the north.
14 / 13 The children of Hephaestus A reference to the Athenians, who regarded themselves as descended from Hephaestus through their early king Erichthonius, born of seed that fell to earth when Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena. The reference to the Athenians as road builders is explicated by a fragment of the fourth-century historian Ephorus, who says that Apollo first traveled to Delphi along the road that the Athenians still use to send their delegation to the Pythian Festival (a quadrennial Panhellenic competition like the Olympics, but featuring musical and poetic as well as athletic contests). Aeschylus is here alluding to (or perhaps even inventing) the story of how that road came to be built.
21 / 19 spokesman for his father Zeus The implication of this statement is that Zeus, the great ruler of the gods, stands behind Apollo’s oracles, including the demand that Orestes kill his mother and the promise of protection when the deed is done.
23–34 / 21–28 The Pythia’s prayer concludes with mention of a rather disparate group of gods, major Olympians and local nature deities, in no apparent order, except for reserving the final place for Zeus “who brings all to fulfillment” (see note on 33–34). All the gods, however, have connections to Delphi: Athena’s shrine that “stands there, apart” (24 / 21) gives her cult at Delphi the name pronaia, “before the temple,” because it is some distance from the temple of Apollo, and would be reached by the approaching traveler before they entered his precinct. The Corycian cave (25 / 22), sacred like many others to the Nymphs, lies on the slopes of Parnassus above Delphi. Bromius (27 / 24) is a cult name of Dionysus, who was thought to take up residence at Delphi during the three winter months when Apollo visited the Hyperboreans (see note on Libation Bearers, 425–26). Pleistus (32 / 27), god of the river that flows below Delphi, was the father of the Corycian Nymphs. Poseidon (33 / 27) was the father of Delphus, the eponymous king at the time of Apollo’s arrival (18 / 16), and had an altar within Apollo’s temple, indicating a longstanding association with the shrine (in one tradition, he originally shared the shrine with Earth).
29–30 / 25–26 led his troop of women / … to hunt down Pentheus This story, best known to us from Euripides’ Bacchae, was also enacted in a lost Aeschylean trilogy. Dionysus, who was born in Thebes, wished to establish his cult there when he returned to Greece after a long absence. King Pentheus tried to ban this new form of worship, but Dionysus drove a group of his maenads, led by Pentheus’ own mother, to tear him to pieces on Mount Cithaeron, near Thebes. Here, the tale serves to explain when worship of Dionysus began at Greece—when he returned to Thebes and established his cult in Greece—but it sits uncomfortably in an otherwise peaceful prayer. The effect seems willed: the detail that Pentheus was snared like a hare (31 / 26) reminds us of the omen of a hare torn apart by eagles that led to the sacrifice of Iphigenia (Agamemnon, 129–57 / 108–38), and his “net of death” evokes the slaughter of Agamemnon.
33–34 / 28 Zeus, / who brings all to fulfillment This is Zeus teleios (see note on Agamemnon 1115–18), he who fulfills prayers, and who may or may not show the way to fulfillment and finality here. (Like others before them in the trilogy, the Erinyes in this play will see themselves as teleoi [see notes on 370–73 and 463].)
39 / 32 in order of the lots they drew Ordinarily, after purification and sacrifice, those admitted to consult the oracle drew lots to determine the order in which they would approach and put their questions.
40 / 33 The Pythia now enters the temple to perform her duties, and the audience awaits the arrival of another character or the entrance song of the Chorus. Exits such as this that leave the stage completely empty are rare, but there is no parallel at all in tragedy for the disappearance and reappearance of the same character. The shock is increased by the manner of her reentry, so terrified by what she has seen that she can only crawl on all fours (44–47 / 36–38).
51 / 41 sitting the way a suppliant would sit A suppliant must be in physical contact with a sacred object, of which he becomes in effect an extension, i.e., the inviolable property of the god to whom the object belongs. Here, that object is the “navel stone” (52 / 40), the sacred stone that stood in the inner chamber of the temple to mark the center of the earth. He may be sitting on it (as we have translated the phrase) or beside it—the Greek can indicate either, and vase paintings show both—but he must be touching it with his hand or a suppliant branch such as he was carrying when he left Argos (Libation Bearers, 1172 / 1035).
57 / 47 sleeps Why this ferocious gang has fallen asleep around their prey remains a mystery until Apollo tells us the answer at 80–81 / 67–68.
61–62 / 50–51 flying female- / creatures These are the Harpies, represented in fifth-century vase painting as winged women. The Pythia, having compared the Erinyes to Gorgons (as did Orestes, at Libation Bearers, 1187–89 / 1048–50), finds the likeness inadequate, and tries again by recalling an image she has seen of the hideous creatures who persecuted Phineus, King of Thrace. The Harpies (“Snatchers”) swooped down and snatched his food whenever a table had been set for him. (Aeschylus wrote a Phineus, performed in 472 along with his Persians.)
66 / 55 Their dark rags The Erinyes, as daughters of Night and dwellers in darkness, dress in the color of mourning, inappropriate and inauspicious for wearing in a temple. The Pythia, as a priestess of Apollo, will be wearing white.
77–108 / 64–93 Apollo assures Orestes of his continued support and sends him on his way to Athens, guided by Hermes. For possible ways of staging this scene, see note on 109–56.
77 / 64 I won’t betray you Cf. Libation Bearers, 303 / 269, “Apollo’s great oracle will never betray me,” and 1169 / 1030–32, [Apollo] “told me I could do this guiltlessly.” Apollo here makes his promise more explicit, offering his protection “to the end” (dia telous, i.e., until the goal is reached).
95 / 80 holding her age-old image in your arms The venerable and venerated olive
wood statue of Athena Polias, which was ceremonially given a new embroidered robe at the Great Panathenaea, the major Athenian festival in honor of Athena. Again, the suppliant is to maintain physical contact with the sacred object (see note on 51).
96 / 81 we’ll have judges for your case The first inkling that resolution will come in the
form of a trial, although there is no indication that the judges will be mortals rather than gods. But the promised resolution will be worked by persuasion (“words / that spellbind,” 96–97 / 81–82; cf. note on 1032), and it will bring Orestes permanent release from his troubles.
105 / 90 be your own namesake Hermes is given his title “the escorter” (pompa
ios) and asked to be true to its meaning. Although it is often supposed that Hermes must be present on stage there is no need to assume that Hermes appears in this scene, and no reason to think he reappears with Orestes in Athens. Apollo calls his brother, who can hear him even from afar (cf. 342 / 297) and asks him to protect and guide Orestes, again something he can do without appearing on the scene.
109–56 / 94–139 Clytemnestra’s ghost appears and exhorts the sleeping Erinyes to rouse themselves and pursue their escaping prey. Ghosts were far from common on the Greek stage; among extant tragedies, we find only the ghosts of the Persian king Darius, in Aeschylus’ Persians, and of Hecuba’s treacherously slain son, Polydorus, in Euripides’ Hecuba. Clytemnestra’s ghost has the additional oddity of coming to her intended audience, the Erinyes, as a dream (156 / 139), whereas the theater audience witnesses her appearance as a real event. The scene completes preparations for the great confrontation to come. Apollo has seen to Orestes’ escape and provided protection and instruction; now Clytemnestra charges her agents of retribution to follow Orestes and give him no quarter.
Regarding staging, although it is impossible to know precisely how Clytemnestra’s entrance was handled, several satisfactory ways can be imagined. The real problem is to decide at what point the audience sees the sleeping Erinyes. The main choices seem to be these: (1) Before 77 / 64, the temple door opens, and the ekkyklêma (see note on Agamemnon, 1563) rolls out, with Orestes seated among at least a small group of sleeping Erinyes. Apollo then appears from behind the ekkyklêma, eventually guiding Orestes out into the orchestra, sending him on his way and reentering the temple after 109 / 93. Clytemnestra then appears from one of the side entrances, or through a subterranean entrance (if the theater had one: see Taplin, Stagecraft of Aeschylus [see Introduction, footnote 7], 447–48), or perhaps most appropriately and effectively, since she is a dream-apparition, on the roof of the stage building. (2) Apollo and Orestes exit from the temple in the usual way, and play their scene, with Orestes departing to the side at the end and Apollo reentering the temple. The door then opens again, and a tableau with Clytemnestra’s ghost among a group of sleeping Erinyes rolls into view on the ekkyklêma. At the end of the scene, Clytemenestra exits to the side and the Erinyes on the ekkyklêma, urged on by the Chorus Leader, enter the orchestra, joined, as the parodos begins, by others who had been out of sight inside the stage building. (3) Apollo and Orestes perform their scene as in 2; Clytemnestra appears in any of the ways listed in 1 and performs her scene with no Erinyes to be seen, although they begin to be heard after 133 / 116. Clytemnestra exits in the same way she entered, the temple door opens, and the Erinyes enter the orchestra at the urging of the Chorus Leader as the parodos begins. Each of these stagings has advantages and disadvantages, but we are persuaded to opt for 3 by the considerations suggested in Taplin, Stagecraft of Aeschylus, 369–74. Withholding the actual sight of the Erinyes until Clytemnestra has departed prevents visual distractions in the prologue scenes and builds expectations for the moment when they take over the orchestra, heightening the dramatic effect of their appearance when the doors are opened at last.
110–17 / 95–102 Clytemnestra has two separate complaints: she suffers dishonor in the world below because her Erinyes have not yet exacted vengeance for her death, and in addition she has to endure the constant reproaches of her own victims. The implied connection between these complaints is that the lack of any show of divine anger for the wrongs she suffered makes her vulnerable to their attacks. Giving and receiving due honors will be an important theme of Eumenides. The Erinyes in particular are incensed that the younger generations gods want to deny them their honors and, after Orestes’ acquittal, they will have to weigh the honors they have lost against the new ones that Athena offers them instead.
120–25 / 106–9 For the notion that offerings are made in the understanding that they will be reciprocated with favor, see note on Libation Bearers 290. Although wine was the regular medium of drink offering, the Erinys were among the deities honored with libations of water and honey. The burnt offerings might be cakes or animal sacrifices.
127 / 110 my offerings trampled A phrase reminiscent of other images of trampling down what ought to be sacred, and of the image’s enactment when Agamemnon treads on the sacred embroideries (Agamemnon 1038–96 / 905–57. The Erinyes in turn will complain that their ancient rights are being trampled by the younger gods (165–66 / 149–50, 850 / 731, 903–5 / 808–9).
129 / 112 out from the middle of your net Aeschylus again uses one of the leading images of the trilogy. Zeus’ net was cast over Troy so that no one could escape (Agamemnon 410–15 / 357–61), and Clytemnestra set hers “so high no one can over- / leap them” (Agamemnon 1568–69 / 1376); only Orestes, the leaping fawn, has leapt free from the hunting net the Erinyes set. The Chorus takes up the metaphor at 163–64 / 147–48.
134 / 118 Preceding this line and 136 / 121, the manuscripts carry the onomatopoeic expression for whining, mugmos. Before 138 / 124 and 140 / 127, we have a similar expression for moaning, ôgmos, and before 142 / 130, “high, repeated mugmos.” These are among the few “stage directions” that come down in ancient dramatic texts. Whether or not they stem from Aeschylus himself, they represent the needed response of the Erinyes. It is perhaps significant that the response starts as soon as Clytemnestra says her name.
141 / 128 the poison from the dread snake’s tooth The image of the serpent, applied to the trilogy’s stealthy murderers Clytemnestra (Libation Bearers, 281 / 248–49 and 1123–25 / 994–95; cf. 1186) and Orestes (Libation Bearers, 603–11 / 526–34 and 627–28 / 549–50; cf. 1057 / 928), is especially appropriate to the Erinyes. In art, they were often represented as serpents, and when Orestes first saw them, he described “snakes swarming all over them, / braiding and unbraiding” (Libation Bearers, 1188–89 / 1049–50).
157 / 142 let’s see if this dream is a truthful prelude Did the dream give, like the introductory section of a musical performance, a foretaste of what is to come? The Chorus Leader is asking whether the dream truly predicts that Orestes has escaped.
158–99 / 143–78 Parodos The Chorus expresses its horror at having let Orestes escape and its passionate condemnation of Apollo for aiding a murderer whose very presence has polluted his shrine. It is not clear whether the entire Chorus is already in the orchestra when the parodos begins. A scholiast (an ancient or medieval commentator whose annotations are included in our manuscript tradition) suggests that the first strophe is divided among individual members of the Chorus, and this is all the more likely if, as it seems, the Chorus enters from the stage building by ones and twos, and may hold for the antistrophe as well.
158 / 143 IOU! IOU! POPAX An expression of horror at the recognition that Orestes is nowhere to be found. (It seems likely that the Chorus Leader and those who immediately follow him into the orchestra briefly mime a search before the song itself begins.)
165–71 / 149–54 These lines contain the essential elements of the Erinyes’ quarrel with Apollo: he is a young upstart who has no respect for their seniority and has denied them their rights; although he is a god, he protects as a suppliant a mortal who has violated the gods’ laws; and he has not acted in accord with justice (dikaiôs). The disrespect of the younger (male) gods will only be set right by Athena’s persistence in showing the ancient female deities due deference (987–88 / 848–49, 1025–30 / 881–84). Supplication will be vindicated, but (like purification, its partner in eliminating blood-guilt) it will be shown to be inadequate in this difficult case (see note on 266). Indeed, it will only be a new way of working dikê—the establishment of a court of law—that will at last allow the quarrel to come to an end.
176–78 / 160–61 The Erinyes liken their pain to that of a criminal submitting to a public flogging.
181–92 / 164–73 The Chorus’ charge that Apollo has polluted his own sanctuary is a pendant to its objection to his receiving suppliants guilty of murder. The Chorus members’ picture of
Apollo’s throne and earth’s navel stone dripping with blood gains effectiveness from the notion of blood pollution as a kind of contagion that spreads by contact (cf. 219 / 195). But, as Orestes will point out (531–38 / 448–52), it is only by undergoing rites of purification that a suppliant guilty of shedding blood can be freed from pollution. Apollo’s answer is that the Erinyes themselves are the ones polluting his sanctuary by their presence (206 / 185, 231 / 207).
192 / 172 the age-old power of the fates the Erinyes are referring to the ancient dispensation (one meaning of moira) that gives them their function. But they are half-sisters of the divine Moirai, the Fates, by their mother Night (1122–23 / 961–62); and they are closely associated with them as agents of the retributive justice over which the Fates preside. The Fates might be thought of in this context as the bookkeepers of justice, making sure that in the end the accounts are brought into balance; cf. the invocation of the Fates as accomplishers of justice, along with Zeus, at Libation Bearers 352–61 / 306–14.
199 / 177 a new avenger When Orestes goes to the world below, his punishment will continue. See 305–18 / 267–75, where the Chorus threatens to drag Orestes to the underworld still living, and it is explicit that the “new avenger” who holds transgressors to a strict accounting is Hades himself.
