Then comes a raging thirst more fierce Than hunger, which inflames his blood, 170 And with its parching fires burns up Its moisture. There the poor wretch stands, Striving to quaff the nearby waves; But the fleeing waters whirl away, And leave but the empty bed to him Who seeks to follow. Quick he quaffs At that swift stream, but to drink--the dust. 175 FOOTNOTES: ACT II _Atreus_ [_in soliloquy_]: O soul, so sluggish, spiritless, and weak, And (what in kings I deem the last reproach) Still unavenged, after so many crimes, Thy brother's treacheries, and every law Of nature set at naught, canst vent thy wrath In vain and meaningless complaints? By now The whole wide world should be astir with arms, 180 Thy arms, and on both seas thy ships of war Should swarm; the fields and town's should be ablaze, And gleaming swords should everywhere be seen.
Beneath our charging squadrons' thundering tread Let Greece resound; let this my enemy Within no forest's depths a hiding find. 185 No citadel upon the mountain heights Shall shelter him. Let all the citizens, Mycenae leaving, sound the trump of war.
Whoe'er grants refuge to that curséd head, Shall die a dreadful death. This noble pile, The home of our illustrious Pelops' line, 190 I would might fall on me, if only thus It might destroy my hated brother too.
But come, my soul, do what no coming age Shall e'er approve--or e'er forget; some deed Must be attempted, impious, bloody, dire, Such as my brother's self might claim as his.
No crime's avenged save by a greater crime. 195 But where the crime that can surpass his deeds?
Is he yet crushed in spirit? Does he show In prosperous circumstances self-control, Contentment in defeat? Full well I know His tameless spirit; it can ne'er be bent-- But can be broken. Then, before his force 200 He strengthens and opposing powers prepares, We must the attack begin, lest, while we wait, He strike us unprepared. For well I know That he must either slay me or be slain By me. There lies the crime between us two: Who leaps to grasp it first, the crime shall do.
_Attendant:_ But does the evil fame of such a deed Deter you not?
_Atreus:_ The greatest blessing this Of royal power, that men are forced to praise 205 Their monarchs' deeds as well as bear them.
_Attendant:_ Yea, But they whose praise is forced by fear become By that same fear in turn the bitterest foes.
But he who seeks the people's heartfelt praise, Will wish their hearts and not their tongues to speak. 210 _Atreus:_ True praise may often fall to humble men, But false alone to kings. Let subjects learn To want what they would not.
_Attendant:_ Let monarchs learn To choose the right; then all will choose the same.
_Atreus:_ When kings are forced to choose the right alone, Their rule is insecure.
_Attendant:_ Where is no shame, No thought of righteousness, no piety, 215 No faith, no purity, Oh, then indeed That rule is insecure.
_Atreus:_ But purity, Faith, piety, are private virtues all; With kings, their will is law.
_Attendant:_ Oh, count it wrong To harm thy brother, though he basest be.
_Atreus:_ Whatever may not lawfully be done 220 To brothers, may with perfect right be done To him. What is there left me now unstained By crime of his? Where has he failed to sin?
My wife has he debauched, my kingdom stolen, The ancient emblem of our dynasty By fraud obtained, and all our royal house By that same fraud in dire confusion plunged.
There is a flock within our royal stalls, 225 Rich fleeced and nobly bred, and with the flock A ram, their leader, wondrous, magical; For from his body thickly hangs a fleece Of fine-spun gold, with which the new-crowned kings Of Pelops' line are wont t' adorn their scepters.
Who owns the ram is king, for with his fate 230 The fortunes of our noble house are linked.
This sacred ram in safety feeds apart Within a mead whose fateful bounds are fenced By stony walls, and kept with gate of stone.
Him, greatly daring, did my brother steal, Perfidious, with my wife in secret league 235 Of crime. And this has been the fountain spring Of all my woes; throughout my kingdom's length Have I a trembling exile wandered long, And found no place of safety from his snares; My wife has he defiled, my subjects' faith And loyalty destroyed, my house o'erthrown, All ties of kinship broken, and nothing left 240 Of which I may be sure save only this-- My brother's enmity. Why do I stand In stupid inactivity? At length Bestir thyself, and gird thy courage up.
Think thou on Pelops and on Tantalus; Such deeds as theirs must by my hands be done.
[_To_ Attendant.]
Tell thou me then how vengeance may be won.
_Attendant:_ Drive out his hostile spirit with the sword. 245 _Atreus:_ Thou speakest of the end of punishment, But I the punishment itself desire.
Let easy-going rulers slay their foes; In my domain death is a longed-for boon.
_Attendant:_ Do pious motives stir thee not at all?
_Atreus:_ Away, O Piety, if ever thou Didst dwell within my house, and in thy stead Let come dire furies' cohorts, fiends at war, 250 Megaera holding high in either hand Her flaming torch; for with a mighty rage 'Tis not enough my heart should be inflamed: I fain would be by greater horrors filled.
_Attendant:_ What new design does thy mad soul conceive?
_Atreus:_ No deed within the accustomed bounds of grief. 255 I'll leave no crime undone; and yet no crime Is bad enough for me.
_Attendant:_ Wilt use the sword?
_Atreus:_ 'Tis not enough.
_Attendant:_ The flames?
_Atreus:_ Still not enough.
_Attendant:_ What weapon then will thy mad passion use?
_Atreus:_ Thyestes' self.
_Attendant:_ Far worse than madness this.
_Atreus:_ I do confess it. Deep within my heart, 260 A fearful tumult rages unrestrained, And I am hurried on, I know not where; I only know that I am hurried on.
From lowest depths a moaning sound is heard, And thunders rumble in the cloudless skies; A crashing noise resounds throughout the house As though 'twere rent in twain; upon my hearth The frightened Lares turn their gaze from me. 265 Yet this shall be, this awful thing shall be, Ye gods, which ye do fear to think upon.
_Attendant:_ What then is this which thou dost meditate?
_Atreus:_ Some greater evil lurks within my soul, And, monstrous, swells beyond all human bounds, My sluggish hands impelling to the deed.
I know not what it is; but this I know, That 'tis some monstrous deed. So let it be. 270 Haste thee and do this deed, O soul of mine!
'Tis worthy of Thyestes--and of me.
Let both perform it then. The Odrysian house Was wont to look on feasts unspeakable-- monstrous thing, 'tis true, but long ago Performed. This grief of mine some greater sin 275 Must find to feed upon. Do thou inspire My heart, O Daulian Procne, who didst know Our cause is similar. Assist thou then, And nerve my hand to act. Let once again A sire with joyous greed his children rend, And hungrily devour their flesh. 'Tis good, 'Tis quite enough. This mode of punishment So far doth please me well. But where is he? 280 Why do the hands of Atreus rest so long Inactive? Even now before mine eyes The perfect image of the slaughter comes; I seem to see the murdered children heaped Before their father's face. O timid soul, Why dost thou fear? Why droops thy courage now Before the deed is done? Then up, and dare.
Of this mad crime the most revolting part 285 Thyestes' self shall do.
_Attendant:_ But by what wiles Shall we unto our snares entice his feet?
For he doth count us all his enemies.
_Atreus:_ He never could be taken, were his will Not bent on taking too. E'en now he hopes To take my kingdom from me. In this hope, He'll rush against the bolts of threat'ning Jove; 290 This hope will make him brave the whirlpools' wrath, And sail within the treacherous Libyan shoals; On this hope stayed, the greatest ill of all Will he have strength to bear--the sight of me.
_Attendant:_ But who will give him confidence in peace?
To whom will he such weighty credence give? 295 _Atreus:_ His wicked hope is ready to believe.
Yet shall my sons this message bear from me: Now let the wretched exile roam no more, But leave his homeless state for royal halls, And rule at Argos, sharer of my throne.
But if Thyestes harshly spurn my prayer, His guileless children, overspent with woes 300 And easily beguiled, will bend his will Unto their prayers. His ancient thirst for power, Together with his present poverty, And harsh demands of toil will move the man, However stubborn, by their weight of woes.
_Attendant:_ But time by now has made his troubles light. 305 _Atreus:_ Nay; sense of wrong increases day by day.
'Tis easy to bear hardship for a time; But to endure it long, an irksome task.
_Attendant:_ Choose other servants of thy grim design.
_Atreus:_ Young men lend ready ear to base commands.
_Attendant:_ Beware, lest what against their uncle now 310 Thou teachest them, they turn against their sire In time to come. Full oft do crimes recoil Upon the man who instigated them.
_Atreus:_ Though none should teach them fraud and ways of crime, The throne itself would teach them. Dost thou fear Lest they grow evil? Evil were they born.
What thou dost savage, cruel call in me, Dost deem impossible and impious, 315 Perchance my brother even now doth plot Against myself.
_Attendant:_ Shall then thy children know What crime they do?
_Atreus:_ Not so, for youthful years Cannot keep silent faith. They might perchance Betray the trick. The art of secrecy Is mastered only by the ills of life.
_Attendant:_ And wilt thou then deceive the very ones 320 Through whom thou plann'st another to deceive?
_Atreus:_ That so they may themselves be free from guilt.
For what the need of implicating them In crimes of mine? Nay, through my acts alone My hate shall work its ends. But hold, my soul, Thou doest ill, thou shrinkest from the task.
If thou dost spare thine own, thou sparest his 325 As well. So then let Agamemnon be The conscious minister of my designs, And wittingly let Menelaüs help His father's plans. And by this test of crime, Let their uncertain birth be put to proof: If they refuse to wage this deadly war, And will not serve my hatred; if they plead He is their uncle--then is he their sire.
So let them go. But no! a look of fear 330 Has oft revealed the heart. And weighty plans, E'en 'gainst the stoutest will, betray themselves.
They shall not know of how great consequence Their mission is.
[_To_ Attendant.]
And do thou hide it too.
_Attendant:_ No warning do I need, for in my breast It shall be hid by fear and loyalty.
But more shall loyalty prevail with me. 335 * * * * * _Chorus:_ At last our royal family, The race of ancient Inachus, Hath quelled the brothers' deadly strife What fatal madness drives you on To shed by turns each other's blood, 340 And gain the throne through paths of crime?
O ye who lust for regal state, Ye know not where true power is found; For riches cannot make a king, Nor Tyrian garments richly dyed, 345 Nor royal crowns upon the brow, Nor portals glittering with gold.
But he is king who knows no fear, Whose heart is free from mad desires; Whom vain ambition moveth not, 350 Nor fickle favor of the mob.
The hidden treasures of the west Move not his heart, nor sands of gold Which Tagus' waters sweep along Within their shining bed; 355 Nor yet the garnered wealth of grain Trod out on Libyan threshing-floors.
He fears no hurtling thunderbolt In zig-zag course athwart the sky; No Eurus ruffling up the sea, 360 Nor the heaving Adriatic's waves, Windswept and mad before the blast; No hostile spear, nor keen, bare sword Can master him; but, set on high, In calm serenity he sees 365 All things of earth beneath his feet.
And so with joy he goes to meet His fate, and welcomes death.
In vain 'gainst him would kings contend, Though from all lands they congregate-- They who the scattered Dacians lead; 370 Who dwell upon the red sea's marge Whose depths are set with gleaming pearls; Or who, secure on Caspian heights, Leave all unclosed their mountain ways Against the bold Sarmatians; 375 They who through Danube's swelling waves Dare make their way with fearless feet, And, wheresoe'er they dwell, despoil The famed and far-off Serians: In vain all these, for 'tis the soul 380 That makes the king. He needs no arms, No steeds, no ineffectual darts Such as the Parthian hurls from far In simulated flight; for him No engines huge with far-hurled rocks 385 Lay waste the hostile city's walls.
But he is king who knows no fear, And he is king who has no lust; And on his throne secure he sits Who is self-crowned by conscious worth. 390 Let him who will, in pride of power, Upon the brink of empire stand: For me, be sweet repose enough; In humble station fixed, would I My life in gentle leisure spend, 395 In silence, all unknown to fame.
So when my days have passed away From noisy, restless tumult free, May I, in meek obscurity 400 And full of years, decline in death.
But death lies heavily on him Who, though to all the world well known, Is stranger to himself alone.
ACT III [_Enter_ Thyestes _returning from banishment, accompanied by his three sons_.]
_Thyestes:_ At last do I behold the welcome roofs Of this my fatherland, the teeming wealth Of Argos, and, the greatest and the best Of sights to weary exiles, here I see 405 My native soil and my ancestral gods (If gods indeed there be). And there, behold, The sacred towers by hands of Cyclops reared, In beauty far excelling human art; The race-course thronged with youth, where oftentimes Have I within my father's chariot Sped on to victory and fair renown. 410 Now will all Argos come to welcome me; The thronging folk will come--and Atreus too!
Oh, better far reseek thy wooded haunts, Thy glades remote, and, mingled with the brutes, Live e'en as they. Why should this splendid realm With its fair-seeming glitter blind my eyes? 415 When thou dost look upon the goodly gift, Scan well the giver too. Of late I lived With bold and joyous spirit, though my lot All men considered hard to bear. But now My heart is filled with fears, my courage fails; And, bent on flight, my feet unwilling move. 420 dost thou falter so With steps uncertain, turn away thy face, And hold thyself as on a doubtful course?
_Thyestes_ [_in soliloquy_]: Why hesitate, my soul, or why so long Deliberate upon a point so clear?
To such uncertain things dost thou intrust Thyself as throne and brother? And fearest thou Those ills already conquered and found mild? 425 Dost flee those cares which thou hast well bestowed?
Oh, now my former wretchedness is joy.
Turn back, while still thou mayst, and save thyself.
_Tantalus:_ What cause, O father, forces thee to leave Thy native land at last regained? Why now, 430 When richest gifts are falling in thy lap, Dost turn away? Thy brother's wrath is o'er; And he has turned himself once more to thee, Has given thee back thy share of sovereignty, Restored our shattered house to harmony, And made thee master of thyself again.
_Thyestes:_ Thou askest why I fear--I cannot tell.
No cause for fear I see, but still I fear. 435 I long to go, and yet my trembling limbs Go on with faltering steps, and I am borne Where I most stoutly struggle not to go.
So, when a ship by oar and sail is driven, The tide, resisting both, bears it away.
_Tantalus:_ But thou must overcome whate'er it be 440 That doth oppose and hold thy soul in check; And see how great rewards await thee here: Thou canst be king.
_Thyestes:_ Since I have power to die.
_Tantalus:_ But royal power is-- _Thyestes:_ Naught, if only thou No power dost covet.
_Tantalus:_ Leave it to thy sons.
_Thyestes:_ No realm on earth can stand divided power.
_Tantalus:_ Should he, who can be happy, still be sad? 445 _Thyestes:_ Believe me, son, 'tis by their lying names That things seem great, while others harsh appear Which are not truly so. When high in power I stood, I never ceased to be in fear; Yea, even did I fear the very sword Upon my thigh. Oh, what a boon it is To be at feud with none, to eat one's bread 450 Without a trace of care, upon the ground!
Crime enters not the poor man's humble cot; And all in safety may one take his food From slender boards; for 'tis in cups of gold That poison lurks--I speak what I do know.
Ill fortune is to be preferred to good.
For since my palace does not threatening stand 455 In pride upon some lofty mountain top, The people fear me not; my towering roofs Gleam not with ivory, nor do I need A watchful guard to keep me while I sleep.
I do not fish with fleets, nor drive the sea With massive dykes back from its natural shore; 460 I do not gorge me at the world's expense; For me no fields remote are harvested Beyond the Getae and the Parthians; No incense burns for me, nor are my shrines Adorned in impious neglect of Jove; No forests wave upon my battlements, No vast pools steam for my delight; my days 465 Are not to slumber given, nor do I spend The livelong night in drunken revelry.
No one feels fear of me, and so my home, Though all unguarded, is from danger free; For poverty alone may be at peace.
And this I hold: the mightiest king is he, Who from the lust of sovereignty is free. 470 _Tantalus:_ But if some god a kingdom should bestow, It is not meet for mortal to refuse: Behold, thy brother bids thee to the throne.
_Thyestes:_ He bids? 'Tis but a cloak for treachery.
_Tantalus:_ But brotherly regard ofttimes returns Unto the heart from which it has been driven; And righteous love regains its former strength.
_Thyestes:_ And dost thou speak of brother's love to me? 475 Sooner shall ocean bathe the heavenly Bears, The raging waves of Sicily be still; And sooner shall the Ionian waters yield Ripe fields of grain; black night illume the earth; And fire shall mate with water, life with death, 480 And winds shall make a treaty with the sea: Than shall Thyestes know a brother's love.
_Tantalus:_ What treachery dost thou fear?
_Thyestes:_ All treachery.
What proper limit shall I give my fear?
My brother's power is boundless as his hate.
_Tantalus:_ How can he harm thee?
_Thyestes:_ For myself alone 485 I have no fears; but 'tis for you, my sons, That Atreus must be held in fear by me.
_Tantalus:_ But canst thou be o'ercome, if on thy guard?
_Thyestes:_ Too late one guards when in the midst of ills.
But let us on. In this one thing I show My fatherhood: I do not lead to ill, But follow you.
_Tantalus:_ If well we heed our ways, God will protect us. Come with courage on. 490 _Atreus_ [_coming upon the scene, sees_ Thyestes _and his three sons, and gloats over the fact that his brother is at last in his power.
He speaks aside_]: Now is the prey fast caught within my toils.
I see the father and his hated brood, And here my vengeful hate is safe bestowed; For now at last he's come into my hands; He's come, Thyestes and his children--all! 495 When I see him I scarce can curb my grief, And keep my soul from breaking madly forth.
So when the Umbrian hound pursues the prey, Keen scented, on the long leash held, he goes With lowered muzzle questing on the trail.
While distant still the game and faint the scent, Obedient to the leash, with silent tongue 500 He goes along; but when the prey is near, With straining neck he struggles to be free, Bays loud against the cautious hunter's check, And bursts from all restraint.
When, near at hand, Hot wrath perceives the blood for which it thirsts, It cannot be restrained. Yet must it be.
See how his unkempt, matted hair conceals 505 His woeful countenance; how foul his beard.
[_He now addresses_ Thyestes.]
My promised faith, my brother, will I keep; 'Tis a delight to see thee once again.
Come to my arms in mutual embrace; For all the anger which I felt for thee Has melted clean away. From this time forth Let ties of blood be cherished, love and faith; 510 And let that hatred which has cursed us both Forever vanish from our kindred souls.
_Thyestes:_ I should attempt to palliate my sins, Hadst thou not shown me such fraternal love; But now I own, my brother, now I own That I have sinned against thee past belief.
Thy faithful piety has made my case Seem blacker still. A double sinner he 515 Who sins against a brother such as thou.
Now let my tears my penitence approve.
Thou, first of all mankind, beholdest me A suppliant; these hands, which never yet Have touched the feet of man, are laid on thine.
Let all thy wrathful feelings be forgot, Be utterly erased from off thy soul; 520 And take, O brother, as my pledge of faith These guiltless sons of mine.
_Atreus:_ Lay not thy hands Upon my knees. Come, rather, to my arms.
And you, dear youths, the comforters of age, Come cling about my neck. Those rags of woe, My brother, lay aside, and spare mine eyes; And clothe thyself more fittingly in these, 525 The equal of my own. And, last of all, Accept thine equal share of this our realm.
'Twill bring a greater meed of praise to me, To restore thee safely to thy father's throne.
For chance may put the scepter in our hands; But only virtue seeks to give it up.
_Thyestes:_ May heaven, my brother, worthily repay 530 These deeds of thine. But this my wretched head Will not consent to wear a diadem, Nor my ill-omened hand to hold the staff Of power. Nay, rather, let me hide myself Among the throng.
_Atreus:_ There's room upon the throne.
_Thyestes:_ But I shall know that all of thine is mine. 535 _Atreus:_ But who would throw away good fortune's gifts?
_Thyestes:_ Whoe'er has found how easily they fail.
_Atreus:_ And wouldst thou thwart thy brother's great renown?
_Thyestes:_ Thy glory is attained; mine bides its time.
My mind is resolute to shun the crown. 540 _Atreus:_ Then I refuse my share of power as well.
_Thyestes:_ Nay then, I yield. The name of king I'll wear, But laws and arms--and I, are thine to sway.
_Atreus_ [_placing the crown on his brother's head_]: I'll place this crown upon thy reverend head, And pay the destined victims to the gods. 545 * * * * * _Chorus:_ The sight is past belief. Behold, This Atreus, fierce and bold of soul, By every cruel passion swayed, When first he saw his brother's face Was held in dumb amaze.
No force is greater than the power Of Nature's ties of love. 'Tis true That wars with foreign foes endure; 550 But they whom true love once has bound Will ever feel its ties.
When wrath, by some great cause aroused, Hath burst the bonds of amity, And raised the dreadful cry of war; When gleaming squadrons thunder down With champing steeds; when flashing swords, 555 By carnage-maddened Mars upreared, Gleam with a deadly rain of blows: E'en then for sacred piety Those warring hands will sheathe the sword And join in the clasp of peace.
What god has given this sudden lull 560 In the midst of loud alarms? But now Throughout Mycenae's borders rang The noisy prelude of a strife 'Twixt brothers' arms. Here mothers pale Embraced their sons, and the trembling wife Looked on her arméd lord in fear, While the sword to his hand reluctant came, 565 Foul with the rust of peace.
One strove to renew the tottering walls, And one to strengthen the shattered towers, And close the gates with iron bars; While on the battlements the guard 570 His anxious nightly vigils kept.
The daily fear of war is worse Than war itself.
But fallen now are the sword's dire threats, The deep-voiced trumpet-blare is still, And the shrill, harsh notes of the clarion 575 Are heard no more. While peace profound Broods once again o'er the happy state.
So when, beneath the storm blast's lash, The heaving waves break on the shore Of Bruttium, and Scylla roars Responsive from her cavern's depths; Then, even within their sheltered port, 580 The sailors fear the foaming sea Which greedy Charybdis vomits up; And Cyclops dreads his father's rage Where he sits on burning Aetna's crag, Lest the deathless flames on his roaring forge 585 Be quenched by the overwhelming floods; When poor Laërtes feels the shock Of reeling Ithaca, and thinks That his island realm will be swallowed up: Then, if the fierce winds die away, The waves sink back in their quiet depths; And the sea, which of late the vessels feared, 590 Now far and wide with swelling sails Is overspread, while tiny skiffs Skim safely o'er its harmless breast; And one may count the very fish Deep down within the peaceful caves, Where but now, beneath the raging blast, The battered islands feared the sea. 595 No lot endureth long. For grief And pleasure, each in turn, depart; But pleasure has a briefer reign.
From lowest to the highest state A fleeting hour may bring us. He, Who wears a crown upon his brow, To whom the trembling nations kneel, 600 Before whose nod the barbarous Medes Lay down their arms, the Indians too, Who dwell beneath the nearer sun, And Dacians, who the Parthian horse Are ever threat'ning: he, the king, With anxious mind the scepter bears, Foresees and fears the fickle chance 605 And shifting time which soon or late Shall all his power overthrow.
Ye, whom the ruler of the land And sea has given o'er subject men The fearful power of life and death, Abate your overweening pride.
For whatsoever fear of you 610 Your weaker subjects feel today, Tomorrow shall a stronger lord Inspire in you. For every power Is subject to a greater power.
Him, whom the dawning day beholds In proud estate, the setting sun Sees lying in the dust.
Let no one then trust overmuch 615 To favoring fate; and when she frowns, Let no one utterly despair Of better fortune yet to come.
For Clotho mingles good and ill; She whirls the wheel of fate around, Nor suffers it to stand.
To no one are the gods so good That he may safely call his own 620 Tomorrow's dawn; for on the whirling wheel Has God our fortunes placed for good or ill.
ACT IV [_Enter_ Messenger _breathlessly announcing the horror which has just been enacted behind the scenes_.]
_Messenger:_ Oh, for some raging blast to carry me With headlong speed through distant realms of air, And wrap me in the darkness of the clouds; That so I might this monstrous horror tear From my remembrance. Oh, thou house of shame 625 To Pelops even and to Tantalus!
_Chorus:_ What is the news thou bring'st?
_Messenger:_ What realm is this?
Argos and Sparta, once the noble home Of pious brothers? Corinth, on whose shores Two rival oceans beat? Or do I see The barbarous Danube on whose frozen stream The savage Alani make swift retreat? 630 Hyrcania beneath eternal snows?
Or those wide plains of wandering Scythians?
What place is this that knows such hideous crime?
_Chorus:_ But tell thy tidings, whatsoe'er they be.
_Messenger:_ When I my scattered senses gather up, And horrid fear lets go its numbing hold Upon my limbs. Oh, but I see it still, The ghastly picture of that dreadful deed! 635 Oh, come, ye whirlwinds wild, and bear me far, Far distant, where the vanished day is borne.
_Chorus:_ Thou hold'st our minds in dire uncertainty.
Speak out and tell us what this horror is, And who its author. Yet would I inquire Not who, but which he is. Speak quickly, then. 640 _Messenger:_ There is upon the lofty citadel A part of Pelops' house that fronts the south, Whose farther side lifts up its massive walls To mountain heights; for so the reigning king May better sway the town, and hold in check The common rabble when it scorns the throne.
Within this palace is a gleaming hall, 645 So huge, it may a multitude contain; Whose golden architraves are high upborne By stately columns of a varied hue.
Behind this public hall where people throng, The palace stretches off in spacious rooms; And, deep withdrawn, the royal sanctum lies, 650 Far from the vulgar gaze. This sacred spot An ancient grove within a dale confines, Wherein no tree its cheerful shade affords, Or by the knife is pruned; but cypress trees And yews, and woods of gloomy ilex wave Their melancholy boughs. Above them all 655 A towering oak looks down and spreads abroad, O'ershadowing all the grove. Within this place The royal sons of Tantalus are wont To ask consent of heaven to their rule, And here to seek its aid when fortune frowns.
Here hang their consecrated offerings: Sonorous trumpets, broken chariots, Those famous spoils of the Myrtoan sea; 660 Still hang upon the treacherous axle-trees The conquered chariot-wheels--mementoes grim Of every crime this sinful race has done.
Here also is the Phrygian turban hung Of Pelops' self; and here the spoil of foes, A rich embroidered robe, the prize of war.
An oozy stream springs there beneath the shade, 665 And sluggish creeps along within the swamp, Just like the ugly waters of the Styx Which bind the oaths of heaven. 'Tis said that here At dead of night the hellish gods make moan, And all the grove resounds with clanking chains, And mournful howl of ghosts. Here may be seen 670 Whatever, but to hear of, causes fear.
The spirits of the ancient dead come forth From old, decaying tombs, and walk abroad; While monsters, greater than the world has known, Go leaping round, grotesque and terrible.
The whole wood gleams with an uncanny light, And without sign of fire the palace glows.
Ofttimes the grove re-echoes with the sound 675 Of threefold bayings of the dogs of hell, And oft do mighty shapes affright the house.
Nor are these fears allayed by light of day; For night reigns ever here, and e'en at noon The horror of the underworld abides.
From this dread spot are sure responses given 680 To those who seek the oracle; the fates With mighty sound from out the grot are told, And all the cavern thunders with the god.
'Twas to this spot that maddened Atreus came, His brother's children dragging in his train.
The sacrificial altars are adorned-- Oh, who can worthily describe the deed?
Behind their backs the noble captives' hands 685 Are bound, and purple fillets wreathe their brows.
All things are ready, incense, sacred wine, The sacrificial meal, and fatal knife.
The last detail is properly observed, That this outrageous murder may be done In strict observance of the ritual!
_Chorus:_ Who lays his hand unto the fatal steel? 690 _Messenger:_ He is himself the priest; the baleful prayer He makes, and chants the sacrificial song With wild and boisterous words; before the shrine He takes his place; the victims doomed to death He sets in order, and prepares the sword.
He gives the closest heed to all details And misses no least portion of the rite. 695 The grove begins to tremble, earth to quake,