You must, however, say how you killed her. OrestesI will say it: with drawn sword in hand, I stabbed her in the throat. ChorusBy whom were you persuaded and on whose advice? OrestesBy the oracles of this god here; he is my witness. ChorusThe prophet directed you to kill your mother?OrestesYes, and to this very hour, I do not blame my fortune. ChorusBut if the jury’s vote catches hold of you, you’ll soon speak differently. OrestesI have good confidence. My father will send protection from his grave. ChorusPut your confidence in the dead now, after you have killed your mother! OrestesI do, for she was twice afflicted with pollution.ChorusHow so? Teach the judges this. OrestesBy murdering her husband, she killed my father. ChorusAnd so, although you are alive, she is free of pollution by her death.She is freed from blood-guiltiness because her blood has been shed. OrestesBut why did you not drive her into exile, while she lived? ChorusShe was not related by blood to the man she killed.OrestesThen am I my mother’s kin by blood? ChorusHow else could she have nurtured you, murderer, beneath her belt? Do you reject the nearest kinship, that of a mother? OrestesApollo, give your testimony now. Explain, on my behalf,whether I was justified in killing her. For I do not deny that I did it, as it is done. But decide whether this bloodshed was, to your mind, just or not, so that I may inform the court. ApolloI will speak justly before you, Athena’s great tribunal,—