Well, you pretended you didnt want the job but you did. Bring him up to be a man. I would have given it if the Greeks couldnt get to Troy without my doing so. Klytaimestra What about the wedding feast after the ceremony? He is interrupted by Klytaimestras entrance. Aided and abetted by the gods! First Chorus We have come to watch the army of the divine Greeks and their thousand ships. Give me a big hug! Finally, my old friend, he came upon the answer. Klytaimestra I am Klytaimestra, Ledas daughter and Agamemnons wife. I know hes around here somewhere. There is a small oil lamp on the table as well as various writing implements. Details. I know, Im behaving as if I were some god towards you though Im a mere mortal. And I beg you also for my mothers sake, the woman who laboured to bring me to life, the woman who is being tortured even now. Cheiron, the centaur did, so that the child might be brought up not knowing the behaviour of evil men. Klytaimestra What was the second message? iphigenia in aulis monologue mother listen to meemerald sea vessel mcdermott. 1318. Dont waste any time! Come, tell me, share your story with me. But I will talk: the strong ought to help the weak where they can, even if they have little to do with their plight. Is it a good wife youre after? Click anywhere in the IPHIGENIA Had I, my father, the persuasive voice Of Orpheus, and his skill to charm the rocks To follow me, and soothe whome'er I please With winning words, I would make trial of it; But I have nothing to present thee now Save tears, my only eloquence; and those I can present thee. No, Id rather see the death of a thousand women than that of a single man! Ah! The young heifers that will be sacrificed and that will deliver their abundant dark blood to the goddess Artemis are ready. Klytaimestra But why? Related Characters: The Old Man (speaker), Agamemnon , Clytemnestra Related Themes: 150. Menelaos I was waiting to see if your daughter would leaveArgosto come to the army camp. Come, then, Lord Agamemnon, make a start on the celebrations. Obedient child. Is it marriage? Me, father! Iphigenia is told that she must prepare for her new life, and that she will be quite alone, far from her parents and home (666, 669). 910. You will be doing so to a man whos loyal and faithful to you. Just before Dawn. Or fastest delivery March 8 - 10. Agamemnon Asopus, the river god, had a daughter,Aegina. Iphigeneia Stop! I offer my neck quietly and with no fear for the knife. 1550, Thats what she said and every man there was amazed at the bravery and the virtue of the young girl. As Iphigeneia approaches her, Agamemnon enters. In revenge for Agamemmnon killing one of her sacred stags, the goddess Artemis demands the sacrifice of his eldest daughter . Good bye. Last Updated on July 14, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. 1010. Called me slave to a wedding bed! Helen, the sister of the Heaven-dwelling twins, the Dioscuri. I am too ashamed to tell you this pitiful story of mine. Achilles, stay! 1020. The Greek army is getting ready to sail. Klytaimestra Ive come out here looking for my husband. In his frenzy, he rushed about the whole ofGreece, calling upon everyone to remember Tyndareus solemn oath and to help him, since he was the wronged husband. Youve persuaded me with wise words. He was her lord. This is something I wont tolerate. Old Man Menelaos! Soldiers, go and tear down Troy! Hes gone out a while ago and Iphigeneia, in the meantime, has heard how her father is planning to kill her. How can you prove that you and I have the same father? Returned soldiers emerge as protagonists in Pierre-Michel Tremblay's Au Champ de Mars, Hannah Moscovitch's This Is War, and George F. Walker's Dead Metaphor while Evan Webber and Frank Cox-O'Connell Little Iliad deals with a soldier about to be dispatched to Afghanistan. 330. Klytaimestra Is it your wish to kill our child? Youve forgotten them and so, now, you want to kill me. My father, my own father has left me! The Chorus turns in the direction of the scream and responds! Sadly, softly so that she wont hear him. Come! Achilles But, dont worry, Ill certainly make it hard for him! Chorus They tell me that Cassandra, Apollos priestess is there. Klytaimestra But why didnt you deliver that message to me, if it was in your hand? Such is "Iphigenia" (1977), by Greek director Mikhali (Michael) Cacoyannis, based on Euripedes' tragedy, "Iphigenia in Aulis." "Iphigenia" relates the story of an incident that took place just prior to the Trojan War. If he doesn't go through with the sacrifice, the army will rise up, sacrifice her, and kill their entire family. I know what you want to do to me Go on! First Chorus The right wing of this naval force was taken up by the fifty swift ships of the war-loving Myrmidons from Phthia. The second, Iphigenia at Aulis, so vastly different as to highlight the playwright's Protean invention, centres on the ultimate dysfunctional family, that of Agamemnon, as natural emotion is. I Im not so sure. No, he gave you life so that you may understand pain, as well as pleasure. Chorus There they will arrive with their war-whetted spears and shields to wrest Helen from Priams city and bring her back toGreece. From now on I will live there in that other world. Im angry because King Agamemnon has insulted me so gravely. They say that Zeus had transformed himself into a bird and then slept with your mother. Consistently, Poor, poor child! Thank you, my sweet daughter! Your fathers holy water is waiting for you! I do but you dont! Enter Second Messenger running excitedly. The first one to call you father, the first one you called daughter. 550. A goddess, mother, the goddess Artemis has called for my body. Old Man That womans there. That light, this light all around us, will cut all other arguments to pieces. Agamemnon The words I have written here, old man, are these: 119, Ledas daughter, Klytaimestra, Im sending you a second letter to replace the first. 471. Cassandra who shakes loose her golden hair beneath the green garland of laurel whenever the god grips her with his prophetic gasp. Be careful of one thing, Menelaos: Be careful when youre walking among the men not to let Klytaimestra find out anything about the sacrifice; at least not until after Ive sent my daughter to Hades. Accept it and let our spears sack the tall towers of Troy!. Go! Old Man Psssst! Iphigeneia No, mother. I take your kind welcome and gracious words as signs of a good omen. Agamemnon I wish I could, my child! 1560. Chorus What an awful, pitiful fate you must endure, child! Klytaimestra What, Achilles? Klytaimestra Was he picked by the army to do this or is this his own private doing? You mean, the son of Sisyphus? Come out! Once you see the knife approaching your neck you might well call for my help. How can I insult all those countless brave warriors and their shields, all those myriads of men, clasping hard at the oars men with courage enough to attack our enemy and die for our country, to clear her name? 250. Come out here immediately! It seems that the generals do as they please with me. Ah! Now you know the whole thing. Ive tried all manner of subtle tricks to get my closest friends to agree with me and there, too, Ive failed. Agamemnon Yes but first I must make a sacrifice here, inAulis. Iphigeneia Youre going off on a long journey daddy and youre living me behind! And you, foreign ladies, say nothing about this. Miserable, Agamemnon says he has no choice. We shall make the wedding celebrations another time., Old Man But how will Achilles take this? On thy knees I hang, A suppliant wreath, this body, which she bore Can I not mourn my daughters loss? Raise a hymn now to the goddess Artemis, Zeus daughter, for the sad honour she has asked me to endure and let the women of Argos, the daughters of Danaus, hold a silence of reverence. Achilles No, Iphigeneia! Can you pronounce this word better. It was your name, Achilles that has brought us to this misfortune, so protect it now. 1260. We also let the horses loose to drink and to graze at a meadow nearby. The sun should rise slowly until full daylight is reached just before line 164. Agamemnon Here, Menelaos. Iphigeneia Separation? Hell grab her by her blond hair, if he has to and. Iphigeneia Yes, mother. Please, father! Do not send our daughter here, inAulis, the place whose harbours are well protected from the harsh seas and which juts out towardsColchis. If only this town, if only Aulis, had refused to let all these Troy-destined ships enter her harbour! As for the other sort, the bad ones, they are everywhere! Agamemnon Neither. What a weak little helper you are, my tiny brother! At the tip of their sterns stood the golden statues of Nereids, the emblem of Achilles army. For a slave you have just too much to say! Pensively, anxiously. The opportunity was made for him to elope with her, since Menelaos was absent at the time. Klytaimestra Thats what a mob is like! The fleet of the war-loving Taphians, with its foaming oars, was commanded by their king, Phyleus son, Meges who had left the Echinae, islands that are far too unwelcoming for sailors. The single men have left their houses empty and uncared for and the married ones have left their wives and children behind. As is common, there is a dowry, here brought by her mother from the household of Agamemnon (lines 612-13). Agamemnon Where, darling? Achilles They jeered at me! Madam, let this sword of mine bear witness to what Im about to say! He announced that if we did make that offering to the goddess, we would be able to sail away and we would succeed in sacking the Phrygian capital,Troy; otherwise we would fail. Agamemnon By the gods! Iphigeneia Are you sending me to live with another family, daddy? Achilles I did but theyre shouting at me, too! Full of joy and yet tears flow from your eyes 650. However, when he tries to rally the Greeks against the sacrifice, he discovers that the entirety of the Greek soldiers demand that Agamemnon's wishes be carried out. Those with dignity are respected, those without are shamed, though defending ones dignity is not always possible. Over the centuries other hands have contributed to the text we now have but even so for the most part it shows Euripides at his finest. 1460. Introduction. The more I hold you in my arms the more the tears rush to my eyes. Whats going on? some of them ask. Come, look up there! The sacrifice of Iphigenia would be covered by Euripides in 'Iphigenia at Aulis' and in this version Agamemnon has second thoughts. Agamemnon What? First Chorus It is wise to be modest because modesty gives you the rare gift of circumspection, the ability to judge what is right, what is your duty; an ability that will give you respect and will remain with you for ever. I have tried desperately to send Klytaimestra away from here but Ive failed. I wrap its limbs around your knees and beg you: Please father, do not cut off my life short. I feel too humiliated to face you after the lies Ive uttered, after the dreadful way Ive been treated! Iphigeneia Servants, quickly, open the doors of the tent so that I may hide! Old Man To stop you By then he had come back to his senses. Please, in the name of Pelops and of Atreas, who is your father, I beg you! When our esteemed prophet, Calchas, conducts his next sacrifice, when he will mingle his barley and his holy water upon the altar, he will pay bitterly for it! Dear women of Argos, this death, my death, this sacrifice to Artemis, will speed the Greeks to Troy and bring honour to the Greeks. Agamemnon Wife, we should consider ourselves very much blessed. This man has forcefully and unjustly ripped your letter from my hands, my lord! Id only be speaking lies and Id be adding disgrace to my miserable Fate! Listen to me! And, they should also swear that they would attack and destroy the land of the wrongdoer by the force of arms, whether his land is Greek or foreign. Why? Tell me, Agamemnon: Tell me what will you say to someone who asks you why youve killed your daughter? The whole army and both the sons of Atreas stood there in silence, their eyes downcast. Still, the girl came up close to him and said, Daddy, here I am, ready to do as you say. Please dont be offended now! As the play opens, Iphigenia introduces herself. I can see that youre angry at your husband but I think youre wrong about that. Whether they treat me well or appallingly makes no difference to them. I need to tell you things that our daughter should not hear. A god or a mortal? Look at him for the last time. Volume II. Open Document. Old Man anxiously takes Klytaimestras hand and kisses it. Now make your answer reasonable also! Would you like her to plead at your knees? Well, old man, Ive reconsidered all those dreadful decisions Ive made back then and wrote another letter in which I am correcting them. Have no fear, the pain will soften with custom and with the passage of time. 610. 1891. Its covered with a cloak. She gives up the most precious gift she can: her life. Hear my first attack on you: Youve married me by brutal force and by murder. Well, then, may you and your friends also enjoy a marriage such as mine! She will say to me! Listen! Iphigeneia Damn all these spears of Menelaos! The sparkling water of your ancestral streams is waiting for you! They live at a place, darling, where I wish Paris, Priams son, never lived! Klytaimestra You have the impudence to ask me that? Iphigeneia Then I shall be stupid and make you laugh! I told her to bring our daughter here so that she may marry Achilles. Youll be back inArgos, taking care of our other daughters.
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