Named Entity Results, Aulis

And so the Hellenes, brandishing their spears and donning their harness, came here to the narrow straits of Aulis with armaments of ships and troops, with many horses and chariots, and they chose me to captain them all for the sake of Menelaus, since I was his brother. Would that some other had gained that distinction instead of me! But after the army was gathered and come together, we still remained at Aulis weatherbound. In our perplexity, we asked Calchas, the seer, and he answered that Aulis weatherbound. In our perplexity, we asked Calchas, the seer, and he answered that we should sacrifice my own child Iphigenia to Artemis, whose home is in this land, and we would sail and sack the Phrygians' capital [if we sacrificed her, but if we did not, these things would not happen]. When I heard this, I commanded Talthybius with loud proclamation to disband the whole army, as I could never bear to slay my daughter. Whereupon my brother, bringing every argument to bear, persuaded me at last to face the crime; so I wrote in a folded scroll and sent to my wife, bidding h

hurry? Old man I am hurrying. It is little enough sleep old age allows me and keenly it watches over my eyes. Agamemnon What can that star be, steering its course there? Old man Sirius, still shooting over the zenith on his way near the Pleiads' sevenfold track. Agamemnon The birds are still at any rate and the sea is calm, hushed are the winds, and silence broods over the Euripus. Old man Then why are you outside your tent, why so restless, my lord Agamemnon? All is yet quiet here in Aulis, the watch on the walls is not yet astir. Let us go in. Agamemnon I envy you, old man, yes, and every man who leads a life secure, unknown and unrenowned; but little I envy those in office. Old man And yet it is there that we place the be-all and end-all of existence Agamemnon Yes, but that is where the danger comes; and ambition, sweet though it seems, brings sorrow with its near approach. At one time the unsatisfied claims of the gods upset our life, at another the numerous peevish f

Agamemnon “Daughter of Leda, in addition to my first letter, I am sending you word —.” Old man Say on and make it plain, that what my tongue utters may accord with what you have written. Agamemnon “Not to despatch your daughter to Euboea's deep-gulfed wing, to the waveless bay of Aulis, for after all we will celebrate our child's wedding at another time.” Old man And how will Achilles, cheated of his bride, curb the fury of his indignation against you and your wife? Here also is a danger. Make clear what you are saying. Agamemnon It is his name, not himself that Achilles is lending, knowing nothing of the marriage or of my scheming or my professed readiness to betroth my daughter to him for a husband's embrace. Old man A dreadful venture yours, king Agamemnon, you that, by promise of your daughter's hand to the son of the goddess, were bringing the maid here to be sacrificed for the Danaids. Agamemnon Ah me! I am utterly distraught; alas! bewilderment comes over me. Aw

Chorus To the sandy beach of sea-coast Aulis I have come after a voyage through the tides of narrow Euripus, leaving Chalcis, my city which feeds the waters of far-famed Arethusa near the sea, so that I might behold the army of the Achaeans and the ships rowed by those godlike heroes; for our husbands tell us that fair-haired Menelaus and high-born Agamemnon are leading them to Troy on a thousand ships in quest of Helen, whom Paris the herdsman carried off from the banks of reedy Eurotas, his gift from Aphrodite, when that queen of Cyprus entered beauty's contest with Hera and Pallas at the gushing fountain.

This was the first cause I had to reprove you, for it was here I first discovered your villainy; but afterwards, when you came to Aulis with all the gathered hosts of Hellas, you were of no account; no! the want of a favorable breeze filled you with consternation at the chance dealt out by the gods. Then the Danaids began demanding that you should send the fleet away instead of vainly toiling on at Aulis; what dismay and confusion was then depicted in your looks, to think that you, with a thoAulis; what dismay and confusion was then depicted in your looks, to think that you, with a thousand ships at your command, had not occupied the plains of Priam with your armies! And you would ask my counsel, “What am I to do? What scheme can I devise, where find one?”—to save yourself being stripped of your command and losing your fair fame. Next when Calchas bade you offer your daughter in sacrifice to Artemis, declaring that the Danaids should then sail, you were overjoyed, and gladly undertook to offer the girl, and of your own accord—never allege compulsion—you are sending word

ters of a fair spring, they and their horses, for we turned these loose in the grassy meadow to browse their fill. But I have come as their forerunner to prepare you for their reception; for the army knows already of your daughter's arrival, so quickly did the rumor spread; and all the people are running together to the sight, that they may see your child; for Fortune's favorites enjoy world-wide fame and have all eyes fixed on them. Some say: “Is it a wedding, or what is happening? or has king Agamemnon from fond yearning summoned his daughter here?” From others you would have heard: “They are presenting the maiden to Artemis, queen of Aulis, previous to marriage; who can the bridegroom be, that is to lead her home?” Come, then, begin the rites, that is the next step, by getting the baskets ready; crown your heads—you too, lord Menelaus; prepare the wedding hymn; let flutes sound throughout the tents with noise of dancer's feet; for this is a happy day, that has come for

at is it, after all, I seek? If I am set on marriage, could I not find a bride as choice elsewhere? Was I to lose a brother—the last I should have lost—to win a Helen, getting bad for good? I was mad, impetuous as a youth, till I perceived, on closer view, what slaying children really meant. Moreover I am filled with compassion for the hapless maiden, doomed to bleed that I may wed, when I reflect that we are kin. What has your daughter to do with Helen? Let the army be disbanded and leave Aulis; dry those streaming eyes, brother, and do not provoke me to tears. Whatever concern you have in oracles that affect your child, let it be none of mine; into your hands I resign my share. A sudden change, you'll say, from my dread proposals? A natural course for me; affection for my brother caused the change. These are the ways of a man not devoid of virtue, to pursue on each occasion what is best. Chorus Leader A generous speech, worthy of Tantalus, the son of Zeus; you do not shame your