Athena Herald, give the signal and restrain the crowd; and let the piercing Tyrrhenian trumpet, filled with human breath, send forth its shrill blare to the people! For while this council-hall is filling, it is good to be silent, and for my ordinances to be learned, by the whole city for everlasting time, and by these appellants, so that their case may be decided well.
Chorus Lord Apollo, be master of what is yours. Say what part you have in this matter.
Apollo I have come both to bear witness—for this man was a lawful suppliant and a guest of my sanctuary, and I am his purifier from bloodshed—and to be his advocate myself. I am responsible for the murder of his mother. Bring in the case, and, in accordance with your wisdom, decide it.
Athena It is for you to speak—I am only bringing in the case; for the prosecutor at the beginning, speaking first, shall rightly inform us of the matter.
Chorus We are many, but we will speak briefly. Answer our questions, one by one. Say first if you killed your mother.
Orestes I killed her. There is no denial of this.
Chorus Of the three falls that win the wrestling match, this one is already ours.
Orestes You make this boast over a man who is not down yet.
Chorus You must, however, say how you killed her.
Orestes I will say it: with drawn sword in hand, I stabbed her in the throat.
Chorus By whom were you persuaded and on whose advice?
Orestes By the oracles of this god here; he is my witness.
Chorus The prophet directed you to kill your mother?
Orestes Yes, and to this very hour, I do not blame my fortune.
Chorus But if the jury’s vote catches hold of you, you’ll soon speak differently.
Orestes I have good confidence. My father will send protection from his grave.
Chorus Put your confidence in the dead now, after you have killed your mother!
Orestes I do, for she was twice afflicted with pollution.
Chorus How so? Teach the judges this.
Orestes By murdering her husband, she killed my father.
Chorus And so, although you are alive, she is free of pollution by her death.
Orestes But why did you not drive her into exile, while she lived?
Chorus She was not related by blood to the man she killed.
Orestes Then am I my mother’s kin by blood?
Chorus How else could she have nurtured you, murderer, beneath her belt? Do you reject the nearest kinship, that of a mother?
Orestes Apollo, give your testimony now. Explain, on my behalf, whether I was justified in killing her. For I do not deny that I did it, as it is done. But decide whether this bloodshed was, to your mind, just or not, so that I may inform the court.
Apollo I will speak justly before you, Athena’s great tribunal,— since I am a prophet, I cannot lie. I have never yet, on my oracular throne, said anything about a man or woman or city that Zeus, the father of the Olympians, did not command me to say. Learn how strong this plea of justice is; and I tell you to obey the will of my father; for an oath is not more powerful than Zeus.
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