Orestes’ Invocation of Athena

Orestes’ Invocation of Athena

And now, with reverence, with a pure utterance, I call upon the goddess Athena –the breath of this country- to come to my aid. She will win my friendship and, bearing no arms and justly, the allegiance of my country and that of the people of Argos for ever. Let her come! Whether she is in some land around Libya by the waters of Triton (her birth river), whether at war or at rest, or she is helping those she loves, or if, like a mighty General she is surveying the plains of Phlegraea, let her come.

Gods can hear from afar, so let her come and deliver me from this suffering!

From Euripides, Eumenides 276 ff.