AESCHYLUS
Prosecution.
A monstrous doctrine, to deny a mother's sacred blood!
Defence.
No more monstrous than to deny the bond between husband and wife.
Apollo's Evidence.
When I commanded the prisoner to kill his mother I merely revealed the Will of Zeus. That is the highest of all laws.
Cross-Examined.
"If Zeus thinks so much of the sanctity of the father, does he think nothing of the mother ?"—"The two cases were not parallel." "Did not Zeus bind his own father?"—"You are trying to make mischief. Zeus knows how to repair any wrong he may have done in the past. He learns and heals."
"Are you not polluted by touching a murderer?" "No: Zeus himself touched and forgave the first murderer, Ixîon, when he came to him in supplication."
Athena (to the Judges).
Decide according to your consciences; for me, I belong utterly to Zeus and my will is his will. Therefore my vote is for acquittal.
P. 27, l. 570. Apparently seats are placed on the Stage or round the Orchestra for the Judges. They are accompanied by a crowd of Athenian citizens, women and children among them, who form the Chorus in the final scene. See pp. 49 f.
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