EURIPIDES
(Turning toward the temple as the bell ceases.)
0 Artemis, I come
On consecrated feet into Thy court,
1 hail Thee beautiful 130
As the golden gleaming of Thy colonnades!
A Second Maiden
Thy priestess calls us, she who keeps Thy keys,
Who left behind, for Thee,
Her land of Hellas, the embattled towers,
The shore of horses, and the quiet fields
Wherein our fathers lived. 135
And we obey her call to worship Thee
In this embittered land,
Far from Eurotas and from happiness.
(Iphigenia enters from the temple, carrying a
heavy golden urn.)
A Third Maiden
(Crossing to Iphigenia and taking it to hold for her.)
O daughter of the king who gathered ships
A thousand strong and led
Unnumbered men against high-towering Troy,
We heard your call and we have come to you.
Why have you summoned us? 140
What makes your cheek so thoughtful and so pale?
What has your tongue to tell,
That your brow is dark and bowed upon your hands?
Iphigenia
My maidens, listen. Listen while I tell
What I have seen. The Muse has veiled Her face, 145
And I am mourning for a dead kinsman.
Last night in a dream I saw my family's ending,
So grieve for me. I saw my brother dead. 150
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