§1340καλῶς· ὑπάρχει γάρ σε μὴ γνῶναί τινα.
Orestes: It is well; for it is possible for no one to recognize you.
§1341ἤγγειλας, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὡς τεθνηκότα.
Paidagogos: You reported, as it seems, that he was dead.
§1342εἷς τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου μάνθανʼ ἐνθάδʼ ὢν ἀνήρ.
Orestes: Know that you are here as one of those in Hades.
§1343χαίρουσιν οὖν τούτοισιν;
Paidagogos: Do they rejoice in these things then?
ἢ τίνες λόγοι;
Or what words were there?
Orestes: I would tell when things are finished; but as it is now, all their affairs, even those not well, are going well.
§1346τίς οὗτός ἐστʼ, ἀδελφέ;
Electra: Who is this, brother?
πρὸς θεῶν φράσον.
Tell me, by the gods.
§1347οὐχὶ ξυνίης;
Orestes: Do you not understand?
§1347aοὐδέ γʼ ἐς θυμὸν φέρω.
Electra: No, nor do I bring it to mind.
§1348οὐκ οἶσθʼ ὅτῳ μʼ ἔδωκας εἰς χέρας ποτέ;
Orestes: Do you not know to whom you once delivered me?
§1349ποίῳ;
Electra: To whom?
τί φωνεῖς;
What do you say?
Orestes: By whose hands, through your foresight, I was secretly sent away to the Phocian plain.
Electra: Is this indeed he whom once, out of many, I alone found faithful at my father’s murder?
§1353ὅδʼ ἐστί· μή μʼ ἔλεγχε πλείοσιν λόγοις.
Orestes: This is he; do not examine me with more words.
Electra: O dearest light, O sole savior of the house of Agamemnon, how have you come?
ἦ σὺ κεῖνος εἶ, §1356ὃς τόνδε κἄμʼ ἔσωσας ἐκ πολλῶν πόνων;
Are you indeed he who saved him and me from many troubles?
§1357ὦ φίλταται μὲν χεῖρες, ἥδιστον δʼ ἔχων §1358ποδῶν ὑπηρέτημα, πῶς οὕτω πάλαι §1359ξυνών μʼ ἔληθες οὐδʼ ἔφαινες, ἀλλά με §1360λόγοις ἀπώλλυς, ἔργʼ ἔχων ἥδιστʼ ἐμοί;
O dearest hands, and you who have the sweetest service of feet, how, being with me so long, did you escape my notice and not reveal yourself, but destroy me with words, while having deeds sweetest to me?
§1361χαῖρʼ, ὦ πάτερ·
Hail, father!
πατέρα γὰρ εἰσορᾶν δοκῶ·
For I seem to look upon my father.
§1362χαῖρʼ·
Hail!
ἴσθι δʼ ὡς μάλιστά σʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐγὼ §1363ἤχθηρα κἀφίλησʼ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ.
Know that of all men I have hated you and loved you most in a single day.
§1364ἀρκεῖν δοκεῖ μοι· τοὺς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ λόγους §1365πολλαὶ κυκλοῦνται νύκτες ἡμέραι τʼ ἴσαι, §1366αἳ ταῦτά σοι δείξουσιν, Ἠλέκτρα, σαφῆ.
Paidagogos: It seems to me to be enough; for as for the words in between, many rolling nights and equal days will show these things clearly to you, Electra.
§1367σφῷν δʼ ἐννέπω γε τοῖν παρεστώτοιν ὅτι §1368νῦν καιρὸς ἔρδειν· νῦν Κλυταιμνήστρα μόνη, §1369νῦν οὔτις ἀνδρῶν ἔνδον· εἰ δʼ ἐφέξετον, §1370φροντίζεθʼ ὡς τούτοις τε καὶ σοφωτέροις §1371ἄλλοισι τούτων πλείοσιν μαχούμενοι.
But I say to you two who stand by that now is the time to act; now Clytemnestra is alone, now no man is inside; but if you delay, consider that you will have to fight with these and other enemies more numerous and wiser than these.
§1372οὐκ ἂν μακρῶν ἔθʼ ἡμὶν οὐδὲν ἂν λόγων, §1373Πυλάδη, τόδʼ εἴη τοὔργον, ἀλλʼ ὅσον τάχος §1374χωρεῖν ἔσω, πατρῷα προσκύσανθʼ ἕδη §1375θεῶν, ὅσοιπερ πρόπυλα ναίουσιν τάδε.
Orestes: Pylades, this would no longer be a matter of long words for us, but as quickly as possible to go inside, having worshipped the ancestral seats of the gods, as many as dwell in this vestibule.
§1376ἄναξ Ἄπολλον, ἵλεως αὐτοῖν κλύε §1377ἐμοῦ τε πρὸς τούτοισιν, ἥ σε πολλὰ δὴ §1378ἀφʼ ὧν ἔχοιμι λιπαρεῖ προύστην χερί.
Electra: Lord Apollo, listen kindly to them, and to me besides them, who have often stood before you with a pleading hand from what I possessed.
§1379νῦν δʼ, ὦ Λύκειʼ Ἄπολλον, ἐξ οἵων ἔχω §1380αἰτῶ, προπίτνω, λίσσομαι, γενοῦ πρόφρων §1381ἡμῖν ἀρωγὸς τῶνδε τῶν βουλευμάτων, §1382καὶ δεῖξον ἀνθρώποισι τἀπιτίμια §1383τῆς δυσσεβείας οἷα δωροῦνται θεοί.
And now, Lycean Apollo, with what I have I ask, I fall before you, I implore: be favorable and help us in these plans, and show to men what kind of rewards for impiety the gods bestow.
Chorus: See where Ares goes forward, breathing hard-to-fight blood.
§1386βεβᾶσιν ἄρτι δωμάτων ὑπόστεγοι §1387μετάδρομοι κακῶν πανουργημάτων ἄφυκτοι κύνες, §1388ὥστʼ οὐ μακρὰν ἔτʼ ἀμμενεῖ §1390τοὐμὸν φρενῶν ὄνειρον αἰωρούμενον.
Just now the inescapable hounds, pursuers of evil crimes, have gone beneath the roof of the house; so that the dream hovering in my mind will no longer wait long.
§1391παράγεται γὰρ ἐνέρων §1392δολιόπους ἀρωγὸς εἴσω στέγας, §1393ἀρχαιόπλουτα πατρὸς εἰς ἑδώλια, §1394νεακόνητον αἷμα χειροῖν ἔχων· ὁ Μαίας δὲ παῖς §1395Ἑρμῆς σφʼ ἄγει δόλον σκότῳ §1396κρύψας πρὸς αὐτὸ τέρμα κοὐκέτʼ ἀμμένει.
For the stealthy-footed helper of the dead is being led inside the house, to the anciently wealthy dwelling of his father, holding newly-sharpened blood in his hands; and Hermes, son of Maia, leads him, having hidden the guile in darkness, to the very goal and waits no longer.
Electra: O dearest women, the men will immediately finish the deed; but wait in silence.
§1399πῶς δή;
Chorus: How indeed?
τί νῦν πράσσουσιν;
What are they doing now?
Electra: She is preparing the urn for burial, and the two are standing close by.
§1402σὺ δʼ ἐκτὸς ᾖξας πρὸς τί;
Chorus: But why did you rush outside?
Electra: To keep watch, so that Aegisthus may not enter inside without our notice.
§1404αἰαῖ.
Clytemnestra: Alas!
ἰὼ στέγαι §1405φίλων ἔρημοι, τῶν δʼ ἀπολλύντων πλέαι.
O house, empty of friends, but full of destroyers.
§1406βοᾷ τις ἔνδον· οὐκ ἀκούετʼ, ὦ φίλαι;
Electra: Someone cries inside; do you not hear, friends?
§1407ἤκουσʼ ἀνήκουστα δύστανος, ὥστε φρῖξαι.
Chorus: I heard, wretched, things unheard of, so as to shudder.
§1408οἴμοι τάλαινʼ·
Clytemnestra: Ah, wretched me!
Αἴγισθε, ποῦ ποτʼ ὢν κυρεῖς;
Aegisthus, where in the world are you?
§1409ἰδοὺ μάλʼ αὖ θροεῖ τις.
Electra: Look, someone speaks very loudly again.
§1410ὦ τέκνον τέκνον, οἴκτιρε τὴν τεκοῦσαν.
Clytemnestra: O child, child, pity her who bore you!
Electra: But he received no pity from you, nor did the father who begot him.
Chorus: O city, O wretched race, now your daily doom is wasting away, wasting away.
§1415ὤμοι πέπληγμαι.
Clytemnestra: Ah! I am struck.
§1416παῖσον, εἰ σθένεις, διπλῆν.
Electra: Strike a double blow, if you have strength!
§1417ὤμοι μάλʼ αὖθις.
Clytemnestra: Ah! Yet again.
§1418εἰ γὰρ Αἰγίσθῳ θʼ ὁμοῦ.
Electra: If only to Aegisthus also at the same time!
§1419τελοῦσʼ ἀραί· ζῶσιν οἱ γᾶς ὑπαὶ κείμενοι.
Chorus: The curses are being fulfilled; those lying under the earth are alive.
For those dead of old are draining the back-flowing blood from those who slew them.
And indeed they are here; and a bloody hand drips with the sacrifice of Ares, nor can I blame it.
§1424Ὀρέστα, πῶς κυρεῖτε;
Electra: Orestes, how is it going with you?
Orestes: Things in the house are well, if Apollo prophesied well.
§1426τέθνηκεν ἡ τάλαινα;
Electra: Is the wretched woman dead?
Orestes: No longer fear that your mother’s spirit will ever dishonor you.
§1429παύσασθε·
Electra: Stop!
λεύσσω γὰρ Αἴγισθον ἐκ προδήλου.
For I see Aegisthus clearly.
§1430ὦ παῖδες, οὐκ ἄψορρον;
Orestes: Young men, will you not go back inside?