Are these amazing words the words of a delirious woman? No mother, no father. I shall do as you say. Klytaimestra Well? I acted like a stupid child before but now I thought more deeply about what it’s really like to kill your own children. The altar of Zeus’ daughter. And tell me another thing, Agamemnon: when you return home, when you come back to Argos, will you have the gall to put your arms around any of your children? For a mere woman? All of us? Old Man But, surely, my lord, surely it is there, in the trappings of office and power, that we find pleasure! The whole thing is a game played by the heavens! I told her to bring our daughter here so that she may marry Achilles. Your own father has slaughtered you with his own hand! “What shall I do now?” you asked me. Faithful, devoted, temperate in nuptial duties, a good keeper of your house. Don’t become an evil man! They’re bound to serve someone well, sometime. Klytaimestra But it is rightfully yours, Achilles! Iphigeneia hugs her mother. Your voice has horrified me! Klytaimestra What was the second message? Who on earth could force you to murder your own child? This is the very same sky that heard your words then and the words you chose to write afterwards, reversing your message to your wife, telling her this time, in words to the effect that “I’ll no longer be my daughter’s murderer!” 360. Klytaimestra He’s an evil man, my husband. [4] "Paley agrees with Porson in regarding the rest of the play after Iphigenia's exit [lines 1510 to the end of the play] as the work of an interpolator". Don’t look at me for that, I can’t give you one! A good man, my brother, must not change his manner just because his life is going well. Chorus With what joy the Muses pounded the earth with their gold-sandaled feet as they climbed the mountain side to get to the wedding! Agamemnon Here, Menelaos. Checking out the situation carefully. AG: Hurry up now. Chorus How the dance-loving lyre and the enchanting notes of the reedy flute brought the fair haired Muses up from their home, the Pierian Springs, to the top of Mount Pelios! Please, father! At the tip of their sterns stood the golden statues of Nereids, the emblem of Achilles’ army. With his own sword, madam… he will make bloody the young girl’s white neck… bloody it with her own blood! He also realizes that it may lead to mutiny and the downfall of the Greek leaders if the troops were to discover the prophecy and realize that their general had put his family above their pride as soldiers. I won’t let anyone take your life even though it would be against your wish. 1290. There is nothing that I would not do for my darling Iphigeneia. Darling, darling little brother! Achilles What? Agamemnon saw his child on her way to her slaughter and immediately groaned with horrible pain. You locked yourself up indoors and became totally unapproachable to everyone. The suitors should all swear a solemn oath, by giving their right hand and by making sacred sacrifices, that each and every one of them would defend the man who won Helen’s hand in marriage, no matter who that would be and to come to his aid in case someone stole her from their home and thus deprived that man of his legal conjugal bed. A teller of truth one time and a teller of lies one thousand times… if he’s lucky! That’s what they’ll be saying; and all this because of you, Helen! Iphigenia is thrilled at the prospect of marrying one of the great heroes of the Greek army, but she, her mother, and the ostensible groom-to-be soon discover the truth. Orestes is begging you, too! They were sitting together on stools, joyfully immersed in a game of draughts, a game full of complex moves. Menelaos Odysseus will give us no trouble. I would have given it if the Greeks couldn’t get to Troy without my doing so. I’m angry because King Agamemnon has insulted me so gravely. The brothers debate the matter and, eventually, each seemingly changes the other's mind. Go inside now! 1080. Agamemnon You are much happier than me for knowing less than I do. 1150. Let me enjoy the sweet light of day and do not force me to enter the world beneath the earth. When the Greek fleet is becalmed at Aulis, thus preventing movement of the expeditionary force against Troy, Agamemnon is told that he must sacrifice Klytaimestra Was he picked by the army to do this or is this his own private doing? Should you not be expecting a poisonous welcome since you’re departing like a snake? The lustral water, the barley, everything is ready for the holy flame. You ask me what they’ve done to me? Come, look up there! The earliest extant libretto is by Christian Heinrich Postel, Die wunderbar errettete Iphigenia, set by Reinhard Keiser in 1699. Rest assured, we are alone. Weddings are blessed things but still very tough on the hearts of the bride’s parents. Agamemnon My old friend, Thestius’ daughter, Leda, had three daughters: Phoebe, Klytaimestra (my wife) and Helen. The sun should rise slowly until full daylight is reached just before line 164. They say that Zeus had transformed himself into a bird and then slept with your mother. The news spread quickly and so the whole army already knows that your daughter has arrived. First Chorus Once there, a maddened gaze of love from each of you had sent you both into Eros’ confusion and sent Greece to Troy with strife-searching ships and spears. Thus, although a messenger tells Clytemnestra at the end of the play that Iphigenia‘s body disappeared just before the fatal blow from the knife, there is no confirmation of this apparent miracle, and neither Clytemnestra nor the audience are sure of the truth of it (the only other witness being Agamemnon himself, an unreliable witness at best). There is no need! 1560. ... Look me in the eye and then I’ll start my story. What shall I say to my wife, then? She goes over to her mother and takes baby Orestes in her arms. I cannot defy the goddess’ demands, my darling. Old Man Yes, tell me so that what I say to your wife agrees with what you’ve written in there. Agamemnon And now it’s my turn to criticise you but, no, I won’t do so in some arrogant, contemptuous way, with my eyes looking down on you but I shall do so in a conciliatory, brotherly way. Menelaos Listen to me, Agamemnon! I’m giving you my tears! It is, however, generally considered that this is not an authentic part of Euripides' original text. Agamemnon Nods, then looks around him. Enter Klytaimestra. Greece is lucky to have you as one of her daughters –I envy her and I envy you because you are lucky to have Greece as your mother. Iphigeneia The same song, mother, the same words tell both our fates, dear mother and I… I’ve lost the day’s sweet light, the sweet light of the sun’s rays! I have brought with me your daughter, Iphigeneia and her mother -your wife- Klytaimestra, as well as your young son, Orestes. Run! Agamemnon Sure, that I can certainly do secretly but there’s something else, brother; something I cannot hide…. A god or a mortal? If you’re wise you’ll heed them; if not then, have no fear, I know how to settle my own affairs well. Klytaimestra … What’s wrong? 1279. I’ve changed because of my love for my mother’s son. Agamemnon Little girls should not be bothered with such things. My home! We will soon reveal Agamemnon’s sacrilegious schemes against his very own children! Klytaimestra Answer me honestly, my husband! Menelaos Let go! How could I ever speak the truth now? 543. Achilles I did but they’re shouting at me, too! Give me your hand, my dear child. I’m leaving for another world! Let my pity be a protective blanket over you; it is the pity of a young man but it is a sincere pity, nevertheless and one brought about by the fact that I have been the one named as your daughter’s husband. A nanny is holding the baby Orestes in her arms. Agamemnon My child, why are you crying? Such good wives are rare, Agamemnon! Clytemnestra and Iphigenia try in vain to persuade Agamemnon to change his mind, but the general believes that he has no choice. Chorus There, upon the city’s towers and round about its high walls, the Trojan folk will stand when the warriors with their bronze shields bring their ships closer, over the river’s waters, after their long journey over the ocean. Be a leader! Agamemnon You? Enter Menelaos and the Old Man. Well then, tell me: what will your prayer, your plea to the gods be? Chorus He’ll be able to confirm the messenger’s words. We are in front of Agamemnon’s lavish tent which has two entrances, one of which is the larger and used only by Agamemnon and his family. The sparkling water of your ancestral streams is waiting for you! Menelaos First, look at me in the eye and then I’ll tell you! Soldiers, go and tear down Troy! They cry when they wish and speak their mind freely, something which a leader cannot do: it’s undignified, it’s an insult to the splendour of his position and his whole life is controlled by it. With blessings or with force? You will kill the one who’s loved by all so as to save the one who’s hated by all! Its blood spattered about, saturating the goddess’ altar! First Chorus This god, this god with the golden hair, lifts his bow and shoots two arrows of passion, one to bring us life’s greatest joy, the other to send us into a whirlwind of confusion. Klytaimestra My question is nothing but reasonable. I need to tell you things that our daughter should not hear. That’s where all the gods held the wedding feast. I would have given it for the sake of my fellow soldiers. Accept this sacrifice which we, the Greek army and Agamemnon, offer to you! You win, I cry. Achilles But, don’t worry, I’ll certainly make it hard for him! First Chorus There you were, Paris: a man brought up to be a cowherd, looking after the grazing, white cows of Ida with their heavy udders, playing Asian tunes in your reedy pipes, airs much like those Trojan songs from Mount Olympus when, suddenly, you had to judge between three goddesses; and it was this judging that has sent you to Helen’s ivory palace in Hellas. Dear women of Argos, this death, my death, this sacrifice to Artemis, will speed the Greeks to Troy and bring honour to the Greeks. What demon has taken possession of his mind? Are you here to add to the mountain of dread I have to endure already? The goddess’ son. But why “girl?” Why do I not call her a “woman?” Will she not be made Hades’ bride soon? She has flown away to the Heavens! No, that’s not a good idea…, Klytaimestra I’ll hold you tight, by your clothes…, Iphigeneia No, mother. He must consider this seriously because his assembled troops may rebel if their honour is not appeased and their bloodlust not satisfied, so he has sent a message to his wife, Clytemnestra, telling her to bring Iphigenia to Aulis, on the pretext that the girl is to be married to the Greek warrior Achilles before he sets off to fight. Other men may have different views but let me give you my own. A coward. Other libretti include Ifigenia by Matteo Verazi (set by Niccolò Jommelli, 1751), that of Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi (set by Ferdinando Bertoni, 1762 and Carlo Franchi, 1766), that of Luigi Serio (set by Vicente Martín y Soler, 1779 and Alessio Prati, 1784), and that of Ferdinando Moretti (set by Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, 1787 and Luigi Cherubini, 1788). Of all of my children, you, Iphigeneia, have always loved your father the most! Achilles, stay! Pause. Some analysts are of the opinion that some of the material in the play is inauthentic and that it may have been worked on by multiple authors. First Chorus Helen was given as a gift to Paris, by Aphrodite, one day when, near the cool springs, she won the beauty contest from her rivals, Hera and Palas Athena. I, being Menelaos’ brother and for his own good, was chosen by them to be their leader… How I wish this honour were given to someone else, my old friend! Let our friends here see how happy you make me. Let’s think through this together, my lady. Achilles I know, I have a bloated pride, madam but I can assure you, I feel the pain of misfortune and the joy of success with a wise temper, a moderate temper; because I also know that those with a moderate temper lead a wiser life.