How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used Christopher Collard's translation.
Quote #10
(Chorus): "It would not be like Argives to fawn upon an evil man!" (1665)
Here is the Chorus's comeback to Aegisthus: they say that they wouldn't flatter somebody who didn't deserve it. ("Argives" just means people from "Argos.") Even though the Chorus intends this as a sign of pride, is it really something to be proud of? If all you do is pick and choose who you are going to "fawn" on, that's a long way from taking control of your own destiny, right? This clearly shows that, for all their complaints about some of their leaders, the people of Argos in Aeschylus's play aren't very good at managing their own affairs either.