60 70 Iam Samos a laeva fuerant Naxosque relictae p. 133, E. 1 106 Dextra Lebynthos erat silvisque umbrosa Calymne 111 Vincla labant, et cera deo propiore liquescit, Ossa tegit tellus: aequora nomen habent. 111 106 a 150 VII. IPHIGENIA. She is here, thine own, thy long-lost sister, Whom great Diana from the altar snatch'd, And safely placed here in her sacred fane.-GOETHE. ARGUMENT. IPHIGENIA, priestess of Diana in the Tauric Chersonese, is about to sacrifice two strangers, according to the inhuman custom of the place, when she discovers that one of them is her brother. returns with them to Greece.-(EPIST. EX PONTO, III. 2.) She This story is the subject of a play by Euripides, the “Iphigenia in Tauris," and also of one of Goethe's masterpieces, under the same name. Description of the Altar, and its Attendant Customs. Est locus in Scythia,... Tauros dixere priores... Quoque minus dubites, stat basis orba dea: 123 134 112 P. 148 E 119 106 I 116 p. 142 (1) a Iphigenia is carried hither by Diana, and made priestess of her temple. Two captives are brought to her for sacrifice. 20 Regna Thoans habuit Maeotide clarus in ora Sceptra tenente illo liquidas fecisse per auras 125 Praefuerat templo multos ea rite per annos, Par fuit his aetas et amor, quorum alter Orestes, Evincti geminas ad sua terga manus. 107 c 107 c p. 134, III.B. 4 She prepares the sacrifice, but, before completing it, asks of their home, and finding that their city is her own, lets one of them go free, on condition that he carry for her a letter to one of her family. 30 40 Spargit aqua captos lustrali Graia sacerdos, 112 Dumque parat sacrum, dum velat tempora vittis, 153 2 "Non ego crudelis, iuvenes; ignoscite !" dixit 145 a Ritus is est gentis. Qua vos tamen urbe venitis? 121 Dixit; et audito patriae pia nornine virgo "Alteruter votis " inquit "cadat hostia sacris : Ad patrias sedes nuntius alter eat." 132 While the two friends quarrel as to who shall go, she writes a letter to her brother and lo! it is her brother to whom she gives it. Their escape. Ire iubet Pylades carum periturus Orestem : 50 Hic negat; inque vicem pugnat uterque mori. Dum peragunt pulchri iuvenes certamen amoris, Nec mora, de templo rapiunt simulacra Dianae, In Scythia magnum nunc quoque nomen habet. 100 ARION, a minstrel, returning from Sicily to Lesbos, is attacked by the crew of the ship in which he has embarked, who threaten to kill him for his treasure. He obtains a short respite, sings a last song, and jumps overboard; and is carried to land by one of the dolphins which, attracted by his music, are following in the vessel's wake.—(FASTI, II. 83 foll.) The story is found in Herodotus, 24, and is a favourite subject on Greek vases. 20 The Power of Arion's Music. QUOD mare non novit, quae nescit Ariona tellus ? p.23, note Saepe sequens agnam lupus ista voce retentus : Et sine lite loquax cum Palladis alite cornix Tamquam fraternis obstupuisse modis. 112 106 I 111 The attack. Arion asks that he may sound his lyre for the last time. Nomen Arionium Siculas impleverat urbes, Captaque erat lyricis Ausonis ora sonis. Inde domum repetens puppem conscendit Arion, Namque gubernator destricto constitit ense, 124 (1) Quid tibi cum gladio? dubiam rege, navita, pinum ; 125 The rescue. 30 Dant veniam, ridentque moram. Capit ille coronam, Traiectus pinna tempora cantat olor. 150 100 115 106 a Ille sedens citharamque tenet, pretiumque vehendi, 141 2 |