Section 1: From the first line to Clytaemestra's: "Of all good things to wish this is my dearest choice"
             The play opens on Agamemnon's palace in Argos. The time is just minutes before the fall of Troy. It is night. A lonely watchman on the roof of the palace, under the starry sky, soliloquizes about his weariness. He has been enlisted by the queen to look out for a beacon of fire, a signal that the war has finally come to an end. The Argive soldiers have been at Troy for ten years now. The Watchman's fatigue and melancholy encapsulate the sentiments of most of Argos. Her citizens have been awaiting the return of their compatriots and progeny for far too long. Many have almost lost hope.
             The Watchman sees a light flare up in the distance. He compares it to dawn. He thinks first about the queen and her joy, then about the return of the king. Overcome with eagerness to relay the good news, he leaves to find the queen.
             The Chorus enters and relates some history about the war and Argos. They mention Menelaus and Agamemnon, brothers, and describe their departure from Argos. Metaphorically, the war cries of the two kings become the shrieks of eagles after the loss of their young. The ostensible cause of the war-Helen's abduction by Paris-is briefly hinted at. The Chorus speaks ominously; they anticipate some vague reckoning for the house of Atreus (the house of Agamemnon and Menelaus) and thus for Argos.
             Clytaemestra enters but does not speak. The Chorus continues its exposition, now directing it toward the queen. They ask about the sacrifices she has ordered in the city. The Chorus is not aware the signal has arrived and the war is over. The portent of the hare-a pregnant hare from whom the fetus was torn out-is discussed. It occurred just before the war, when a seer read it and forecasted disaster for Argos. The Chorus then relates the historical event, the playing out of the portent, in which Agamemnon chose to sacrifice his y...