Page:Tragedies of Euripides (Way 1898) v3.djvu/18

xiv an obscure cause: may the Goddess, the story of whose afflictions is recalled by those of Helen, have been offended by some sin of omission or commission on her part?

2. The Iphigeneia in Taurica, which contains one such chorus (1234–1283).

Here the relevance is again twofold, (a) It was the oracle of Delphi that had led Orestes to Taurica: his obedience to it had redeemed him from the persecution of the haunting furies, had plucked him from the brink of death, and had restored to him a sister. The misgivings which had troubled him, the murmurings which had broken from him, when it seemed as if the God had betrayed him to his destruction, had been found baseless. Those who had seen all this might well take as their theme the institution of an oracle so strikingly vindicated, (b) But again, the same oracle had superseded the ancient divination by dreams; and here, once more, the Oracle, which has guided Orestes aright, has triumphed over the Dream (44–55), which has misled Iphigeneia almost fatally; and thus yet another attempt of Earth, the ancient sender of dreams, to recover her lost prerogative, has failed. The decree of Zeus is ratified, and the right of Apollo is maintained, as against the old nature-worship.

It may be noted also, that, the barbarian king being close at hand, a non-compromising chant ("speaking to those who can understand," in Pindar's phrase), which shall convey no hint of the situation to hostile ears, is required by dramatic propriety.

3. The Madness of Herakles, in which half a chorus is of this nature (637–672).

Here we have an expansion of the idea contained in the parodos, or entrance-song of the chorus (107–129), and in the