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The Delphic Oracle
The unnamed old slave is Orestes’s tutor, and the man to whom Electra gave infant Orestes after Agamemnon was murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Electra had feared that Clytemnestra and Aegisthus would kill Orestes as a baby because he would probably grow up to avenge his father’s death, and the old slave indeed raises Orestes to avenge Agamemnon. Throughout much of Electra, the old slave urges Orestes and the others to stop talking and instead act, which reflects Sophocles’s central argument that words are often deceptive and that actions, usually, are more indicative of truth.
Old Slave Quotes in Electra
The Electra quotes below are all either spoken by Old Slave or refer to Old Slave. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Lines 1-85
Quotes
To the left the famous temple of Hera. The place
We have reached you may call Mycenae, rich in gold,
And here the palace of Atreus, rich in blood.
From here, some years ago, when your father was murdered,
Your sister Electra handed you into my care.
I carried you off, I saved your life, and then
I brought you up as my own, until you reached
Your prime of manhood, to avenge your father’s murder.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Our crafty tale will bring them the glad tidings
That my body has been cremated and now consists
Of nothing but charred remains. What harm does it do me
To say I’m dead? None, if the outcome proves
My real salvation and wins me a glorious prize.
In my opinion, no word can be a bad omen
If it leads to gain. A false report of death
Is a trick I’ve often seen used by clever philosophers.
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Old Slave Quotes in Electra
The Electra quotes below are all either spoken by Old Slave or refer to Old Slave. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Lines 1-85
Quotes
To the left the famous temple of Hera. The place
We have reached you may call Mycenae, rich in gold,
And here the palace of Atreus, rich in blood.
From here, some years ago, when your father was murdered,
Your sister Electra handed you into my care.
I carried you off, I saved your life, and then
I brought you up as my own, until you reached
Your prime of manhood, to avenge your father’s murder.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Our crafty tale will bring them the glad tidings
That my body has been cremated and now consists
Of nothing but charred remains. What harm does it do me
To say I’m dead? None, if the outcome proves
My real salvation and wins me a glorious prize.
In my opinion, no word can be a bad omen
If it leads to gain. A false report of death
Is a trick I’ve often seen used by clever philosophers.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
