Monologue

Orestes Monologue from Iphigenia in Tauris

From Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides

male · anguished · 2:08 min

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O God, where hast thou brought me? What new snare Is this?--I slew my mother; I avenged My father at thy bidding; I have ranged A homeless world, hunted by shapes of pain, And circling trod in mine own steps again. At last I stood once more before thy throne And cried thee question, what thing should be done To end these miseries, wherein I reel Through Hellas, mad, lashed like a burning wheel; And thou didst bid me seek ... what land but this Of Tauri, where thy sister Artemis Her altar hath, and seize on that divine Image which fell, men say, into this shrine From heaven. This I must seize by chance or plot Or peril--clearer word was uttered not-- And bear to Attic earth. If this be done, I should have peace from all my malison. Lo, I have done thy will. I have pierced the seas Where no Greek man may live.--Ho, Pylades, Sole sharer of my quest: hast seen it all? What can we next? Thou seest this circuit wall Enormous? Must we climb the public stair, With all men watching? Shall we seek somewhere Some lock to pick, some secret bolt or bar-- Of all which we know nothing? Where we are, If one man mark us, if they see us prize The gate, or think of entrance anywise, 'Tis death.--We still have time to fly for home: Back to the galley quick, ere worse things come!

About this piece

Orestes finds himself in a perilous situation, grappling with the consequences of his past actions while contemplating a dangerous mission to retrieve a sacred image.

20s · fear · fate · madness · revenge · isolation

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