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Chorus of Chalkidian Women
One of Clytemnestra’s slaves who has been in her employ since her wedding to Agamemnon. The old man has accompanied Agamemnon to Aulis to serve as his attendant. Though put-upon and condemned to a life of hardship, the old man is wise, gentle, kind, and empathetic. He takes care to advise Agamemnon in a delicate moment as the king agonizes over whether to summon his daughter Iphigeneia to Aulis so that she can be sacrificed to Artemis, as the prophet Kalchas has said is necessary if they’re ever to sail from Aulis. Agamemnon charges the old man with delivering an important letter to Clytemnestra back at home in Mycenae that will save Iphigeneia’s life, but the old man’s journey is intercepted by Menelaos, who wants the sacrifice to go ahead as planned.
The Old Man Quotes in Iphigenia at Aulis
The Iphigenia at Aulis quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Man or refer to The Old Man. 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:
).
Iphigeneia at Aulis
Quotes
AGAMEMNON: I envy you, old man. I envy any man
whose life passes quietly, unnoticed by fame.
I do not envy those in authority.
OLD MAN: But it is they who have the good of life.
AGAMEMNON: You call that good? It’s a trap. Great honors
taste sweet
but they come bringing pain.
Something goes wrong
between a man and the gods
and his whole life is overturned.
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Explanation and Analysis:
THE OLD MAN: Atreus did not
sire you, Agamemnon, into a world
of pure happiness. You must expect
to suffer as well as rejoice,
since you're a man.
And the gods will see to that, whether
you like it or not.
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AGAMEMNON: because Menelaos is my brother, they chose
me to be their general.
I wish they had saved the honor for someone else.
And when the whole army had mustered
here at Aulis,
the wind died. Calm. We still cannot sail.
There is only one hope of our going,
according to Kalchas,
the prophet. Iphigeneia, my daughter,
must be sacrificed to Artemis,
the deity of this place.
Then the wind will take us to Troy,
and the city will fall to us.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Old Man Quotes in Iphigenia at Aulis
The Iphigenia at Aulis quotes below are all either spoken by The Old Man or refer to The Old Man. 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:
).
Iphigeneia at Aulis
Quotes
AGAMEMNON: I envy you, old man. I envy any man
whose life passes quietly, unnoticed by fame.
I do not envy those in authority.
OLD MAN: But it is they who have the good of life.
AGAMEMNON: You call that good? It’s a trap. Great honors
taste sweet
but they come bringing pain.
Something goes wrong
between a man and the gods
and his whole life is overturned.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
THE OLD MAN: Atreus did not
sire you, Agamemnon, into a world
of pure happiness. You must expect
to suffer as well as rejoice,
since you're a man.
And the gods will see to that, whether
you like it or not.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
AGAMEMNON: because Menelaos is my brother, they chose
me to be their general.
I wish they had saved the honor for someone else.
And when the whole army had mustered
here at Aulis,
the wind died. Calm. We still cannot sail.
There is only one hope of our going,
according to Kalchas,
the prophet. Iphigeneia, my daughter,
must be sacrificed to Artemis,
the deity of this place.
Then the wind will take us to Troy,
and the city will fall to us.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
