This text is part of:
Search the Perseus Catalog for:
Table of Contents:
In the following scene, most of Orestes' lines are spoken, most of Iphigenia's are sung.
Iphigenia
O dearest, for you are my dearest, none other, I have you, Orestes, [830] far from our country of Argos, my darling. Orestes
And I have you, who were thought to be dead. Tears, and laments mixed with joy, fill your eyes and also mine. Iphigenia
I left you still a baby, [835] young in the arms of your nurse, young in the house. O my soul, you have been more fortunate than words can say. [840] I have come upon things that are beyond wonder, far from speech. Orestes
For the rest of time, may we be fortunate with each other! Iphigenia
O my friends, I have found an extraordinary joy; I am afraid that he will fly from my hands into the air. [845] O Cyclopean hearths; o my country, dear Mycenae, I thank you for his life, for his nourishment, because you brought up this light of the house, my brother. Orestes
[850] We are fortunate in our family, but in our circumstances, my sister, we were born to be unfortunate in life. Iphigenia
I was unhappy, I know, when my wretched father put the sword to my throat. Orestes
[855] Alas! Though I was not present, I seem to see you there. Iphigenia
O brother, when I was brought, not a bride, to the treacherous bed of Achilles; [860] but beside the altar there were tears and wails. Alas for the libations there! Orestes
I also mourned for the daring act of our father. Iphigenia
Fatherless was the fate I received, fatherless. [865] One thing comes from another, by divine fortune. Orestes
Yes, if you had killed your brother, unhappy one!
Euripides. The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Iphigenia in Tauris, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938.
The Annenberg CPB/Project provided support for entering this text.