She also states that:.
"And for his wofe, may he return and find her true at hall just as the day he left her, faithful to the last".
She SEEMS to be reaffirming her love for Agamemnon. She sweeps into the palace and the Chorus take no interest in what she says and turn their attention onto Menelaus. .
The Herald gradually reveals the darker, more painful news of the Greek Armarda being hit by a freak storm and Menelaus being lost at sea:.
"He's gone from the fleets, He and his ship, its true".
Tragedy has hit the ships and vessels have been wrecked. The storm took place at night and when the men wake up, they see:.
"The Aegean heaving into a great bloom of corpses.".
Strangely Agamemnons sgip was saved. There is no real explanation for this except that Lady Luck had helped. The Herald says that Menelaus is alive somewhere on some unknown coast:.
"If a shaft of the Sun can track him down alive.".
Analysis.
The Herald has arrived and the Chorus Leader is pleased that he will finally know what the beacons meant.
"Soon we"ll know her fires for what they are, her relay race of torches hand-to-hand".
This reminds us of the Watchman. In place of the Watchmans dreams was fear and terror. The Chorus are afraid to believe that Troy had fallen but equally afraid of Clytemnestra.
The Greeks believed that the gods sent dreams to decieve mortals. The morning will clear the mortal's senses:.
"hope of morning here to take our senses.".
This parallels the theme of light coming from the darkness, which runs throughout the play.
The Herald addresses the land of Argos:.
"Good Greek earth, the soil of our fathers".
He is overjoyed to be home. He gives thanx to the Sun, Zeus and the king of Pytho. Pytho is the oracle of Apollo in Delphi.
Traditionally the Greeks were nearly defeated in Troy by Apollo's arrows due to a plague cast upon the Greeks by Apollo. He talks to the god of the market, Hermes that is the Greek name for Murcury, the messenger god.