468 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



622-623, where Menelaus says, toOt' ea-r^ eKeivo ■ ^vix^efSaaLV ol Xoyoi I 

 01 TrjaS' aXrjOeiS, ktX. 



Electra. 



I have purposely reserved for the last the consideration of the recog- * 

 nition scene of Euripides's Electra, which contains the disputed passage 

 mentioned at the beginning of this paper. My consideration of this 

 scene shows nothing very different from what has been noted in the 

 other Euripidean recognition scenes. As usual, Euripides states his 

 case in the prologue, and straightway brings on Orestes '^'*, who has 

 paid a visit to his father's tomb during the night and made offerings 

 of his hair, with the accompanying rites. The appearance of Orestes 

 assures a recognition, and with the audience there is only the question 

 of how Euripides will bring it about. They wondered, no doubt, how 

 his treatment would differ from those of Aeschylus and Sophocles. 

 Orestes meets Electra (220, /teV, w rakaiva, ktA.) and assures her that 

 her brother is alive but in exile (236), learns the status of the family 

 affairs, assures himself of her willingness to assist in slaying the mur- 

 derers of their father, learns that there is only one who would be able 

 to identify him (287, Trarpds -ye TraiSaywyos a.p-^alo<; yepwv), after which 

 he is about at a loss for words, when the peasant, the nominal husband 

 of Electra, appears just in time to relieve the situation. After receiving 

 an explanation about the presence of the strangers, he extends to them 

 the hospitality of his home, for which he is censured by Electra, and 

 despatched forthwith to the aged guardian ^5 of Agamemnon to re- 

 quest that he lend material aid in providing a banquet for the stran- 

 gers. The peasant goes out at 430, and is not allowed to return. 

 During the supposed meantime, which is a pretty short time, the 

 chorus is called upon to entertain the audience until the old man 

 (Trpecr/Sus) can arrive with a young offspring of his flock ^^, some 

 fresh cheese and old wine. It happens, however, that the old gentle- 

 man has stopped by the tomb of Agamemnon, whereon he discovered 



the shorn locks of hair (515, $av6rj'? re xat'i"'?? l3o(TTpvxov<; KeKapfxlvovs) 



which, he ventures to assert to Electra, may have been offered by 

 Orestes, and thereby provokes a discussion with Electra that has given 

 certain latter-day scholars considerable trouble. 



With the situation thus before us, let us see about the ' secondary ' 

 delay before the recognition. As stated above, the audience is assured 

 of a recognition by the presence of Orestes. It may be thought that 



34 82 ff. 



3^ 409 : f A.0' ojy iraXaihv Tpo(phy tfiov (pi\ov TrarpSs. 



36 494 ff. 



