CHORUS: Oh praise Zeus that our men have return from this war upon the Trojans. Eleven years ago, soon after Persephone’s return to her mother, Agamemnon, the King of all the Argives, ordained by Zeus, sent his heralds to all the leaders of Achaea to gather their armies and ships at Aulis for war. The just cause was the abduction of Helen, beloved wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon, by Paris, son of the Trojan King Priam. Zeus for this violation of the rights of hospitality by the Trojan prince sanctioned that a mighty army of Argives be sent against Ilium. The sons of Atreus would set forth from this land leading this Danaan army to champion their cause, the return of lovely Helen to the side of Menelaus.
King Eumelus, as father of two young princes and husband to a young wife, strove to avoid the call from the Atreus brothers, as had Odysseus, cleverest of the Achaeans, claimed to be plagued by Lytta though his deception then was unveiled by the hero Palamedes. Not the same in feigning insanity, Eumelus called upon Zeus and Apollo to support his pledge that he did not fear the Trojans but that he feared for his family and country with King and army gone. Strong Menelaus and wise Nestor came to Pherae by Lake Boebea to argue for the strong men of Pherae and Iolkos to join the Achaean army in their just cause to punish the people of Troy for their prince’s violation. They talked of glory, to be looked upon throughout the ages as heroes. As they talked, an eagle’s scream was heard and just as all looked up, a sharp-eyed raptor captured a soft dove in its talons. Taking this as an omen, Menelaus told of how even one that is safe in its own territory can be destroyed if one does not enforce the will of the gods. Eumelus, bowing to the portent, agreed to bring his army and ships to Aulis, there to join the growing fleet of Achaeans. The King of Pherae then made his loving departure from his youngest son and new bride. He gathered up the strong men of Pherae and Iolkos, including his son, handsome Admetus, not yet a score years old, and led them to the ships to begin their journey to Aulis and to the windy shores of Ilium.
Our fleet joined the thousand at Aulis but there was stranded due to adverse winds. The cause was swift-footed Artemis, she that loves wild things of the field. An omen of two eagles with pregnant hare in talons was interpreted by seer Calchas to represent the Atreus brothers as eagles and Troy as hare. Thus the success of the Achaean army over Ilium was foretold, but Artemis, she who takes delight in suckling young, was angered by the death of the timorous hare and its unborn young and prevented winds favorable to the Danaan fleet. Ships decayed and men grew restive as Kairos fled. The seer proposed appeasement of Artemis by the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s virgin child, and the King of Argos was torn between abandonment of purpose and the loss of beloved daughter. With tears not stifled, he could not refuse hard fate and desert his allies and fleet, so Iphigenia was sent for under false pretenses and upon arrival wrapped in saffron robes. As supplication, her blood was spilled upon the altar like that of a young goat, and Artemis was appeased, for she then releasing the winds to take our men and the thousand ships to Ilium. Through heartless sacrifice, the commanders eager for war could now seek their glory, but the scales of Justice were not aligned. Queen Clytaemestra would use said sacrifice as motive for actions arrived at through other motives upon Agamemnon’s triumphed return.
We, women of Thessaly, have waited these eleven long years for our men to return. Wives, whose beds have grown cold and whose wombs have remained barren for lack of husbands; mothers, whose sons have grown into warriors in the arms of Ares without the love of families; daughters and sisters, whose fathers and brothers were not there to serve as krios for arranging the dowry or performing the engyesis. And now they have returned to us, but how many? Eleven Pheraean ships left more than a decade ago, and now only four return. Agamemnon returned a year ago and was vilely murdered by his wife and her lover, and Menelaus is now in Sparta with Helen restored to his bed for almost a year. Our ships have just now returned, what adventures did the gods send them on? We had heard the Achaean fleet had been scattered by storms as they sailed home. We believed that Poseidon had destroyed the Pheraean ships in revenge for the desecration of Trojan temples, as he had done to Ajax the Lesser. But lo, they now arrive at Pagasae and proceed here to the palace of Eumelus.
We know not how many are now marching here to join us and how many were taken by Ares in battle or Apollo by plague or Poseidon in storms. Who has crossed the river Styx to wander forever in Hades and who still walks in the glow of Phoebus? Do we dare hope or do we prepare for weeping? Neither will change what the fates have already decided, their threads cannot be repaired. We worship all the gods, the gods supreme, the gods of water, land, heaven, and below. The city has set the sky ablaze with sacrifices to these fickle gods to join with all the libations and offerings made in secret over the years. Should the sacrificial glow give peace to our uneasy hearts or should the sorrow continue to gnaw at those hearts? The case stands where it stands and destiny will not be denied.
Queen Iphthime and Promachos exit the palace.
CHORUS: Oh, great queen and loved prince, who have kept us safe these many years, we rejoice in your happiness upon the return of your husband and father, our King, from the ruins of Troy. Through the guile of Odysseus, Troy has been destroyed, and all men put to the sword, only those protected by the gods having escaped. The women of Troy captured to serve the victors as spoils of war or sacrificed to the gods. Now dead are the Trojan heroes: powerful Hector, breaker of horses; sly Paris, stealer of wives; wise Priam, King of the great city; Thersites; Rhesus; Deiphobus; Memnon; Sarpedon; and many more. Though they did not travel alone to Erebus, many Achaean heroes joined them there: mighty Achilles, greatest of the Achaeans; Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans; Telamonian Ajax, second only to Achilles; Locrian Ajax; Patroclus, beloved of Achilles; Medon; and Antilochus. We watch the approach of our King and our army, to see which of us will be widows and orphans, dependent on the state for our delivery. We can see by the fading light and the fires lit along the road, that King Eumelus’ chariot is leading, and he fast approaches.
IPHTHIME: I have missed my husband dearly these long years.
CHORUS: As have we all.
IPHTHIME: The weight of the state has been hard on me, like Sisyphus eternally toiling with his rock. My son has helped with the burden this last year. But it will be good to have my husband’s strong hand on the tiller again.
CHORUS: You and your son have ruled wisely. Our King will be proud of what you have accomplished during his long absence at Troy. You have protected the people and provided for the weak and lame. Your people love you as they love the King.
IPHTHIME: Promachos will have a father again, and his half brother, Admetus, can show him how to become a greater man and warrior. We shall be a family again.
CHORUS: Oh Queen, we will go down to the gate where the army will enter to watch for those of our men that have returned. The hope in our hearts being the only thing that sustains us, though it is shadowed by dread at what we may find.
The Chorus heads down to the gate below the palace. Teuthras exits the palace but is not seen by Iphthime and Promachos.
PROMACHOS: Mother, what will become of me? What will be my fate should father die and Admetus ascend to the throne? I have read the histories of our families and know what becomes of those whose noble birth makes them rivals to those that take power. My great uncles, though showing no signs of disloyalty, were executed by fathers on both sides of my family. I harbor no disloyalty to my father nor hatred for my brother, but death will be my fate should Admetus perceive me as a threat, even if not justified.
IPHTHIME: Son, your father loves you dearly, though he has not seen you grow up this last decade. He will remember you as the boy he loved to carry around on his shoulders and kiss to sleep at night. He would never be sanction to your murder even though his oldest son should seek it. Great Zeus, protector of us all, would not sanction such an act of injustice.
PROMACHOS: It is not my father that I fear, but his son, my brother, Admetus. No matter how power
ful a King may be, his power is lost upon his death and must past to the one chosen to be his successor. My brother is supported by both King and army and is a great hero of the war just ended, a warrior almost the equal of our father. I cannot rival him in this. My life would be subject to Persuasion by gods and men upon my brother. Love between brothers does not prevent the injustice of actions that are taken to hold onto power and wealth. Zeus may not sanction such actions, but he seems more interested in the punishment after the deed is done than on the prevention of said deed.
IPHTHIME: Alas, I have dwelt upon this as well. I know of my family’s history of patricide and fratricide and of the fate of Agamemnon, as if killing one’s relative is no longer an impiety to be punished by the gods. Observe Clytaemestra’s betrayal and murder of her husband and King and the torment of Orestes over thoughts of matricide. I am torn between loyalty to my husband and his son, who I raised as if my own, and the love I have for my son and my desire to see him live a long and successful life. A mother’s loyalty will always come to