Am I of kin, then, to my mother's blood?
CHORUS.
Wretch, wast thou not beneath her girdle borne,
And dar'st thou to forswear thy mother's blood?
ORESTES.
Apollo, now stand forth and testify.
Say, was my mother rightly slain or not?
The deed itself is not by us denied;
Whether't was rightly done or not, judge thou,
That I may plead thy sentence to this court.
APOLLO.
I will before this high Athenian court
Bear witness true: the prophet cannot lie;
For never in my seat of prophecy
Spoke I of man, of woman, or of state,
Aught else than the Olympian father bade.
I pray you, mark the force of this my plea,
And yield obedience to the will of Zeus,
For Zeus is mightier than a judge's oath.
CHORUS.
Zeus, as thou sayest, inspired this oracle
Which bade Orestes, for his father's death
Take vengeance, reckless of a mother's claim.