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Nemesis
Pylades is Orestes’s close friend. Pylades accompanies Orestes to Mycenae with the old slave and, at the end of the play, he helps kill Clytemnestra and perhaps Aegisthus as well. Pylades personifies loyalty in Electra, but he never speaks a word throughout the play. Pylades’s silence reinforces Sophocles’s central argument that words are often deceptive; Pylades’s loyalty is demonstrated solely through actions.
Pylades Quotes in Electra
The Electra quotes below are all either spoken by Pylades or refer to Pylades. 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
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:
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Pylades Quotes in Electra
The Electra quotes below are all either spoken by Pylades or refer to Pylades. 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
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:
