Aeschylus · c. 525-456 BC
Eumenides
ΕὐμενίδεςEumenides is the third play of the Oresteia. Orestes, pursued by the Furies of his murdered mother, is sent by Apollo to Athens, where Athena sets up a court of citizens to judge him and then persuades the angry Furies to accept a place of honour in the city. The sections follow the play's own units (prologue, parodos, episodes, choral songs and exodos) and keep the standard line numbers of the Greek text.
Contents · 15 passages
- 1–93Prologue: the Priestess at Delphi and Apollo's promise855 words
- 94–177Prologue (cont.): the ghost of Clytaemestra wakes the Furies678 words
- 179–234Apollo drives the Furies out of his temple558 words
- 235–298Orestes at Athena's statue; the Furies find him518 words
- 299–396First stasimon: the Furies' binding song616 words
- 397–489Athena arrives and hears both sides923 words
- 490–565Second stasimon: the Furies on law, fear and justice428 words
- 566–621Second episode: the trial opens558 words
- 622–680The arguments of Apollo and the Furies636 words
- 681–733Athena founds the court on the Hill of Ares509 words
- 734–777The votes are counted: Orestes is acquitted414 words
- 778–869The Furies' anger and Athena's first appeals711 words
- 870–915Athena persuades the Furies437 words
- 916–987Kommos: the Furies accept Athens and bless it445 words
- 988–1047Exodos: the procession of the Eumenides418 words
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English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth (modernised by Perseus) (1926). Original text: Greek text: Herbert Weir Smyth (ed. and trans.), Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926, as digitised by Perseus. English: Herbert Weir Smyth, Aeschylus, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1926 (Perseus's modernised version of Smyth's prose translation).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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