Page:Aeschylus.djvu/174

162 close, like Electra, to the tomb. And thus their chant begins:—

This is the key-note of the earlier part of the play: this is the fear which hangs over our minds. This fear has led the queen to send forth this mourning procession, as if she might so appease the wrath of her murdered lord. But blood, says the Chorus, cannot be washed out; Atè will exact her penalty without mercy.