Euripides, Orestes 1-3

In this article, I propose a particular linguistic interpretation of the first three lines of Euripides' Orestes which applies, by extension, to the play as a whole. I first argue that .d. e.pe.. .p.. is a parenthetical limitative infinitive and should be translated "almost", by analogy with the prose idiom .. .p.. e.pe... Based on this reading, I suggest that lines 1-3 introduce three leitmotifs: negation, t. de...., and anti-climax; I identify further examples in Electra's prologue speech, especially the Tantalus exemplum. I conclude that Orestes is a drama of anti-climax; and that the first three lines of the play, and the prologue speech which they introduce, make sense as a programmatic statement of that dramatic conception.