No sooner had
her husband gone to the wars than she set up Aegisthus in his place, as
if there were no other king of Argos. For years this faithless pair
lived arrogantly in the face of the people, and controlled the affairs
of the kingdom. But as time went by and the child Orestes grew to be a
youth, Aegisthus feared lest the Argives should stand by their own
prince, and drive him away as an usurper. He therefore planned the
death of Orestes, and even won the consent of the queen, who was no
gentle mother! But the princess Electra, suspecting their plot,
secretly hurried her brother away to the court of King Strophius in
Phocis, and so saved his life. She was not, however, to save a second
victim.
The ten years of war went by, and the chief, Agamemnon, came home in
triumph, heralded by all the Argives, who were as exultant over the
return of their lawful king as over the fall of Troy. Into the city
came the remnant of his own men, bearing the spoils of war, and, in the
midst of a jubilant multitude, King Agamemnon sharing his chariot with
the captive princess, Cassandra.
Queen Clytemnestra went out to greet him with every show of joy and
triumph. She had a cloth of purple spread before the palace, that her
husband might come with state into his home once more; and before all
beholders she protested that the ten years of his absence had bereaved
her of all happiness.
The unsuspicious king left his chariot and entered the palace; but the
princess Cassandra hesitated and stood by in fear.
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