Chapter 3 Orestes avenges his father

Electra lived a miserable life in the palace after her father was murdered.She hoped that her brother would grow up quickly so that she could avenge her father.Mother hated her terribly.Electra had to endure the disgrace of living in the palace with her father-killers and obeying them in every way.She watched Aegisthus sit on her father's throne, and was forced to watch all the tenderness shown to him by her shameless mother.Mother holds a feast every year on the anniversary of Agamemnon's death, and sacrifices many animals to the gods every month to thank them for protecting her. Years later, Electra still awaits her brother's return.Although he was still young at the time, he swore to his sister when he ran away that he would come back to avenge his father when he was old enough to use a weapon.Until now, the brother has not appeared, and the fire of hope is gradually extinguished in her desperate heart.

Her young sister Chrysothemis could give her no support, no help, no consolation.It's not that the younger sister doesn't talk about sisterhood, but that she is too weak.Chrysothemis obeyed her mother blindly, and she did not dare to disobey her mother's orders like Electra.One day, she came out of the palace with sacrificial utensils and gifts for her father, and happened to meet her sister Electra.Electra blamed her for listening to her mother and forgetting her dead father: "Do you wish to mourn uselessly forever?" Chrysothemis replied: "Believe me, I see everything around me feel sad.

What can I do?If you continue to hold grudges, they will put you in a dark prison.Please remember this, if you really suffer this kind of punishment, don't blame me for not reminding you! " "They may do what they please," replied Electra, proudly and calmly. "I wish to stay as far away from you as possible, wherever! But, sister, to whom are you going to sacrifice?" "My mother told me to make offerings to my dead father." "What, sacrifice to the husband she murdered?" Electra exclaimed in amazement, "how did she think of doing it?"

"She had a bad dream at night!" said my sister, "and it is said that she saw our father in her dream, who held in his hand the scepter that Aegisthus held in his hand, which used to be his own. Put the king's scepter on the ground. The king's scepter immediately grows into a big tree with dense branches and leaves, covering the whole country of Mackenzie. My mother felt that the dream was strange and was surprised, so she told me to go to sacrifice to my father's soul today, Aigui Storrs just wasn't home." "Dear sister," Electra begged her suddenly, "don't defile your father's tomb with this woman's sacrifice!

Throw away the sacrifice, or bury it in the soil to worship the wind god.Do you think the dead would be willing to accept the murderer's sacrifice?Throw it all away, cut off a lock of your hair and mine, wear one of my belts, and sacrifice to him with these things that the father loves.Kneel on his grave, and beg him to come out of hell to protect us, to let us hear the footsteps of his son Orestes' proud return, and let him avenge him with us.At that time, we will sacrifice on his grave with rich offerings! Chrysothemis was deeply moved by her sister's words, and promised to obey her, so she hurried away with the sacrifice her mother had given her.

After a while, the mother Clytemnestra came out from the inner court, and she scolded her second daughter as usual. "Aren't you ashamed to come out alone and complain about me in front of the maids who come and go? Do you still use my father's death as a point of attack against me? Well, I don't deny that I did it, of course I Not that one dared to do it alone, and Justice was on my side. You, if you were wise, should be on her side too. Did not the father you mourn sacrifice your sister? Isn't such a father cruel?If my dead daughter could speak, she would support me!As for you, stupid woman, I don't care what you say against me! "

"Listen!" replied Electra, "you admit that you killed my father, whether you did it justly or unjustly. You did not kill him for justice! You did He did this to please the one who possessed you. My father sacrificed her daughter for the whole army, not for himself. He was forced to do it for the sake of the whole people. Even though he did it for himself and his brother In this matter, should you kill him? Do you have to marry the accomplice?" "Remember, proud woman!" cried Clytemnestra angrily, "when Aegisthus returns, you will regret your arrogance!"

Clytemnestra turned away from her daughter and came to the altar of Apollo built outside the palace gate.Her sacrifice was to please the god of prophecy in the dream. Sure enough, God seemed to have heard her prayer.As soon as she had finished the sacrifice, a stranger approached the maid, asking for the way to the palace of Aegisthus.The maid told him the queen was here.The stranger hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "My queen, I wish you a long life. Strophius, king of Fanote, sent me to tell you: Orestes is dead. My mission is completed." .” "These words are like a death sentence for me." Electra, who was standing aside, screamed when she heard the news, and fell down on the steps of the palace.

"What do you say, my friend?" asked Clytemnestra excitedly. "Your son Orestes," said the stranger, "has gone to Delphi for the sacred game, in pursuit of honor. When the umpire announced the race, he stepped forward. Orestes's His tall stature aroused the surprise and attention of the audience. Before everyone had time to take a closer look, he reached the finish line like a strong wind and won the crown. This was the case on the first day of the competition, but the strong cannot escape the mercy of the goddess of fate. The next day, the sun had just risen, and the racing started. He also came to the field like many people who participated in the racing. The referee let everyone draw lots, the cars were arranged in order, the horn signaled, they held the reins and whipped, loudly The horses rushed forward while yelling. The metal chariot clanged and rattled, the dust was flying under the wheels, and the racers kept waving their whips. At the beginning, the race was relatively smooth, but then an Aenea's horse suddenly lost control and ran wildly Get up. The Aeneana's chariot crashes into the Libyan's chariot. It's a disaster; everything goes wrong, and the chariots collide with each other. Orestes walks on At last, when he saw that there was now another Greek beside himself at the race, he lashed the horses' ears with his whip.

The two did not give in to each other, and the competition gradually became fierce.Orestes, overly convinced of his own victory, gradually let go of the left rein.This caused the horse to turn too quickly and the car hit a roadside post.The axle snapped, and Orestes was thrown from his seat and hung behind the cart, while the horses galloped across the track; the spectators shouted and another driver managed to stop the horse.Orestes was dragged so badly that even his friends did not recognize him.His body was quickly cremated on the pyre.Messengers from Phocus have brought his bones in an urn to bury him in his native land! "

After the messenger finished speaking, Clytemnestra's heart was filled with complicated and contradictory feelings.Originally, he was afraid of his son's return, so he should be happy for his son's death.However, the nature of the mother made her feel sad for the death of her son.Electra, on the other hand, was completely hopeless. "Where should I escape to?" She could not help but mourn when she saw Clytemnestra enter the palace with the stranger from Phocis, "I am completely alone now, I am now I must forever serve my father's murderers. No, I cannot live under the same roof with them. I would rather be exiled and die in a foreign country. Life brings me new sufferings, and death makes me happier!" She fell silent, sitting alone on the marble steps, thinking hard for several hours.At this moment her sister Chrysostemis came running joyfully and uttered a cry of joy, which woke her from her contemplation. "Orestes is back!" Electra raised her head, opened her eyes wide, and asked suspiciously: "Sister, are you talking in your sleep? Are you kidding about imagining my pain? " "Listen!" said Chrysothemis, smiling with tears in her eyes, "listen to me how I know the truth! As I went to my father's grave overgrown with weeds, there was fresh milk and I was startled and frightened. I looked around, but there was no one around. I boldly approached the cemetery. At this time, I saw a new bunch of curly hair in front of the tombstone. I don’t know why, I I suddenly thought of my brother Orestes in my heart. I can say with certainty that it is him, it must be him. Look, the curly hair in front of the grave must have been cut off by our younger brother! " Electra shook her head suspiciously. "You are mistaken, sister," she said, "you do not know what I have heard." Then she told her sister the bad news brought by the Phocians. "There is no doubt," said Electra, "that lock of hair must have been cut by a friend of my brother's, who put his own hair on his father's grave as a token of mourning for him!" Electra summoned up her courage and made a bold suggestion to her sister: Orestes could no longer avenge his father himself, and the two of them should work together to kill Aegisthus. "You think," she said, "that you love life, Chrysothemis, don't you? But don't expect Aegisthus to allow us to marry. Agamemnon's family is a danger to him, Therefore, he does not want to see us having children to avenge Agamemnon. In order to prove your loyalty to your father and brother, please follow my advice. In the future, you will live freely and marry a A well-matched husband, live a happy life. Support me! For my father, for my brother, for me, and for yourself!" Chrysothemis felt that her sister's suggestion was unwise, imprudent, and impossible to implement. "What makes you successful?" she asked. "We are facing powerful enemies whose power and status are becoming more and more consolidated. Yes, our fate is miserable, but if we fail, our fate will be even worse. At that time, we can only die! We can't even ask for death, they will definitely be worse Treat us cruelly. I beg you, sister, do not destroy us." "I'm not surprised by what you said." Electra sighed, "I knew you would reject my proposal. Now, I must do it alone." Chrysote Mies cried and hugged her sister, but Electra was determined. "Come on," she said coldly, "tell all this to your mother." The younger sister walked away, shaking her head with tears in her eyes.Looking at the figure of her sister, Electra shouted loudly: "You go! I will never change my mind!" Electra was still sitting dumbfounded on the steps of the palace.Suddenly two young men came towards her holding the urn, followed by several followers.The noble one among them looked at Electra, and asked her where the dwelling of King Aegisthus was.He claimed to be a messenger from Phocus.Immediately Electra jumped up, and stretched out her hands towards the urn. "By God, stranger, I beseech you," she wailed, "if the altar contains the bones of Orestes, give it to me! Let me take his ashes and mourn our whole Unhappy family!" The young man looked at her and said: "Whoever she is, give her the urn. She cannot be the enemy of the dead." Electra held the urn with both hands, pressing it tightly to her chest, Said: "Oh, here are the bones of my dearest! How I wish to send you away, alas, I would rather die than send you away! All my efforts are in vain Yes! All hope is gone with you! Father is dead, you are dead. I am also alive and dead. Our enemies have won! Oh, I wish you would take me into the columbarium together!Let me die with you! " At this time, the young man standing in front of the messenger couldn't bear it anymore. "Isn't this sad man Electra?" he said aloud. "How did you get this way?" Electra opened her eyes wide in amazement, looked at him and said, "That's because I was forced to be a slave in the family of the murderer of my father. All my hopes are buried in the ashes in this altar!" "Throw away this urn!" whimpered the young man.When he saw that Electra did not throw it away but hugged it even tighter, he couldn't help but said: "The urn is empty, it's for display!" Electra listened for a while Throwing the empty altar away, he cried out in despair, "My God! Where is his tomb?" "Not at all," answered the young man. "There is no need to build a grave for a living person!" "Why, he's still alive, is he still alive?" "He is as alive as I am. My name is Orestes, and I am your brother. Look at this mark on my body, which my father branded on my arm. Should you believe me now? ?” While they were talking, the messenger who had brought the queen the bad news came out of the palace.He is the servant of Orestes, whom Electra entrusted to send his brother to Phocis. "Time is short," he said, looking at Orestes. "The time for vengeance has come. Now only Clytemnestra is in the palace, and Aegisthus has not returned." Orestes Hes nodded, and at once broke into the palace with his loyal friend Pylades, son of Strophius, king of Phocas, followed by his retinue.Electra prayed devoutly before the altar of Apollo, and then rushed into the palace. An hour later, when Aegisthus returned to the palace, he asked where the Phocians who had brought the news of Orestes' death were.Then he saw Electra, and asked her mockingly, "Where are those strangers? I heard they destroyed all your hopes, did they not?" Electra suppressed her emotions, and calmly replied, "They're in there!" "Is that true?" he continued. "Have they come here only to report his death?" "Yes," replied Electra, "and not only that, but they even brought him." "That's the first pleasant thing I've ever heard from you!" Aegisthus smiled sarcastically. "Of course they take the dead!" Aegisthus, full of joy, approached Orestes and his retinue, who were carrying a wrapped corpse from the inner chamber to the outer court. "Ah, unravel the shroud!" the king ordered loudly. "According to the etiquette, I should also mourn him. After all, he is my relative." Orestes replied: "My lord, you have better open it yourself. Only you can enjoy this honor!" "That is true," said Aegisthus, "but let Clytemnestra come first, and let her see what she pleases." "Clytemnestra is at hand," cried Orestes.So the king gently lifted a corner of the shroud, and with a cry of surprise, he quickly withdrew his hand.Before him lay not the body of Orestes, but the bloody body of Queen Clytemnestra. "What kind of trap have I fallen into!" Orestes replied with a roar: "Don't you know that the living man who is talking to you is what you think is the dead man? Do you see that Orestes is standing here? He wants to die for his father revenge!" "Let me explain," begged Aegisthus hastily.But Electra advised her brother not to listen to his nonsense.The entourage worked together and pushed the king into the inner palace.In the bath where Aegisthus killed Agamemnon, he was killed by the sword of the Avenger.