‘O seed of Atreus, after how many sufferings have you come forth with difficulty into freedom, perfected by this present enterprise.’
In these words the Chorus expresses a typically choral summation of the action. By the murder of Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus, Electra and Orestes have at last won through to freedom; they have put an end to the long history of violence and vengeance which has plagued the house of Pelops from the beginning. The morality of the matricide is not in question. The Chorus regards it simply as both necessary and just, however dreadful it may seem to dispassionate reflection. For the Chorus, the justice of the matricide is self-evident, as it was necessary to restore Orestes to his rightful throne, to bring an end to the chain of violence and retribution and to restore the house of Atreus to its proper condition. In these final words the Chorus betrays no sense of unease; there is no suggestion that the matricide may have repercussions in the future. There is nothing, in short, in these words, other than the happy anticipation of a life, from this point on, of prosperity and freedom. The Pelopid curse has run its course, the chain is broken, and all has come to a satisfactory and just conclusion.