IPHIGENIA(Throwing herself into AGAMEMNON'Sarms)Be not wroth with me,mother,if Irun from thy side and throw myself on my father's breast.
Omy father!Ilong to outrun others and embrace thee after this long while;for Iyearn to see thy face;be not wroth with me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Thou mayst do so,daughter;for of all the children Ihave born,thou hast ever loved thy father best.
IPHIGENIA
Isee thee,father,joyfully after a long season.
AGAMEMNON
And Ithy father thee;thy words do equal duty for both of us.
IPHIGENIA
All hail,father!thou didst well in bringing me hither to thee.
AGAMEMNON
Iknow not how Iam to say yes or no to that,my child.
IPHIGENIA
Ha!how wildly thou art looking,spite of thy joy at seeing me.
AGAMEMNON
Aman has many cares when he is king and general too.
IPHIGENIA
Be mine,all mine to-day;turn not unto moody thoughts.
AGAMEMNON
Why so Iam,all thine to-day;Ihave no other thought.
IPHIGENIA
Then smooth thy knitted brow,unbend and smile.
AGAMEMNON
Lo!my child,my joy at seeing thee is even as it is.
IPHIGENIA
And hast thou then the tear-drop streaming from thy eyes?
AGAMEMNON
Ave,for long is the absence from each other,that awalts us.
IPHIGENIA
Iknow not,dear father mine,Iknow not of what thou art speaking.
AGAMEMNON
Thou art moving my pity all the more by speaking so sensibly.
IPHIGENIA
My words shall turn to senselessness,if that will cheer thee more.
AGAMEMNON(Aside)
Ah,woe is me!this silence is too much.(To IPHIGENIA)Thou hast my thanks.
IPHIGENIA
Stay with thy children at home,father.
AGAMEMNON
My own wish!but to my sorrow Imay not humour it.
IPHIGENIA
Ruin seize their warring and the woes of Menelaus!
AGAMEMNON
First will that,which has been my life-long ruin,bring ruin unto others.
IPHIGENIA
How long thou wert absent in the bays of Aulis!
AGAMEMNON
Aye,and there is still a hindrance to my sending the army forward.
IPHIGENIA
Where do men say the Phrygians live,father?
AGAMEMNON
In a land where Iwould Paris,the son of Priam,ne'er had dwelt.
IPHIGENIA
'Tis a long voyage thou art bound on,father,after thou leavest me.
AGAMEMNON
Thou wilt meet thy father again,my daughter.
IPHIGENIA
Ah!would it were seemly that thou shouldst take me as a fellow-voyager!
AGAMEMNON
Thou too hast a voyage to make to a haven where thou wilt remember thy father.
IPHIGENIA
Shall Isail thither with my mother or alone?
AGAMEMNON
All alone,without father or mother.
IPHIGENIA
What!hast thou found me a new home,father!
AGAMEMNON
Enough of this!'tis not for girls to know such things.
IPHIGENIA
Speed home from Troy,Ipray thee,father,as soon as thou hast triumphed there.
AGAMEMNON
There is a sacrifice have first to offer here.
IPHIGENIA
Yea,'tis thy duty to heed religion with aid of holy rites.
AGAMEMNON
Thou wilt witness it,for thou wilt be standing near the laver.
IPHIGENIA
Am Ito lead the dance then round the altar,father?
AGAMEMNON(Aside)
Icount thee happier than myself because thou knowest nothing.(To IPHIGENIA)Go within into the presence of maidens,after thou hast given me thy hand and one sad kiss,on the eve of thy lengthy sojourn far from thy father's side.
Bosom,cheek,and golden hair!ah,how grievous ye have found Helen and the Phrygians'city!Ican no more;the tears come welling to my eyes,the moment Itouch thee.
Exit IPHIGENIA.
(Turning to CLYTAEMNESTRA)Herein Icrave thy pardon,daughter of Leda,if Ishowed excessive grief at the thought of resigning my daughter to Achilles;for though we are sending her to taste of bliss,still it wrings a parent's heart,when he,the father who has toiled so hard for them,commits his children to the homes of strangers.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Iam not so void of sense;bethink thee,Ishall go through this as well,when Ilead the maiden from the chamber to the sound of the marriage-hymn;wherefore Ichide thee not;but custom will combine with time to make the smart grow less.
As touching him,to whom thou hast betrothed our daughter,Iknow his name,'tis true,but would fain learn his lineage and the land of his birth.
AGAMEMNON
There was one Aegina,the daughter of Asopus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Who wedded her?some mortal or a god?
AGAMEMNON
Zeus,and she bare Aeacus,the prince of Cenone.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What son of Aeacus secured his father's halls?
AGAMEMNON
Peleus,who wedded the daughter of Nereus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
With the god's consent,or when he had taken her in spite of gods?
AGAMEMNON
Zeus betrothed her,and her guardian gave consent.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Where did he marry her?amid the billows of the sea?
AGAMEMNON
In Chiron's home,at sacred Pelion's foot.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What!the abode ascribed to the race of Centaurs?
AGAMEMNON
It was there the gods celebrated the marriage feast of Peleus.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Did Thetis or his father train Achilles?
AGAMEMNON
Chiron brought him up,to prevent his learning the ways of the wicked.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ah wise the teacher,still wiser the father,who intrusted his son to such hands.
AGAMEMNON
Such is the future husband of thy daughter.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Ablameless lord;but what city in Hellas is his?
AGAMEMNON
He dwells on the banks of the river Apidanus,in the borders of Phthia.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wilt thou convey our daughter thither?
AGAMEMNON
He who takes her to himself will see to that.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Happiness attend the pair!Which day will he marry her?
AGAMEMNON
As soon as the full moon comes to give its blessing.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Hast thou already offered the goddess a sacrifice to usher in the maiden's marriage?
AGAMEMNON
Iam about to do so;that is the very thing Iwas engaged in.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Wilt thou celebrate the marriage-feast thereafter?
AGAMEMNON
Yes,when Ihave offered a sacrifice required by Heaven of me.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
But where am Ito make ready the feast for the women?
AGAMEMNON
Here beside our gallant Argive ships.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Finely here!but still Imust;good come of it for all that!
AGAMEMNON
Iwill tell thee,lady,what to do;so obey me now.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
