Eumenides

“In front of this man slept a startling company

Of women lying all upon the chairs. Or not

Women, I think I call them rather Gorgons, only

Not Gorgons either, since their shape is not the same.

I saw some creatures painted in a picture once,

Who tore the food from Phineus, only these have no

Wings, that could be seen; they are black and utterly

Repulsive, and they snore with breath that drives one back.

From their eyes drips the foul ooze, and their dress is such

As is not right to wear in the presence of the gods’

Statues, nor even in any human house.

I have never seen the tribe that spawned this company

Nor know what piece of earth can claim with pride it bore

Such brood, and without hurt and tears for labor given.”

The Pythia vividly describes the horrible sight cut by the Furies, whom she has just glimpsed inside Apollo’s temple sleeping around Orestes. She compares the Furies’ appearance to mythical monsters such as the Gorgons and the Harpies (the creatures “who tore the food from Phineus”), highlighting their grotesque and outlandish physical features that seem out of place anywhere, especially “in the presence of the gods’ / Statues.” From the very beginning of the play, the Furies are thus associated with the primeval, qualitatively different from the familiar world.

“My lord Apollo, you understand what it means to do

No wrong. Learn also what it is not to neglect.

None can mistrust your power to do good, if you will.”

It is common for mortal characters in Attic tragedy to speak of the gods’ power to do good and to model righteous behavior—even if the gods do not always choose to do so. In Eumenides, Apollo is determined to help Orestes and thus demonstrate that he does know “what it is not to neglect.” At the same time, Apollo is the one who encouraged Orestes to kill his mother in the first place, an instruction whose moral rightness is certainly questionable.