How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used Paul Roche's translation.
Quote #10
Cadmus:
"he [Cadmus] must lead barbarian mongrel hordes against our Hellas" (319)
Cadmus is doomed to live a life of violence. He must lead foreign soldiers in battles against other Greeks. We wonder why this particular fate was put on the old man. It doesn't quite seem to have the same ironic twist as the rest of the play. Some scholars think that this ending was added in later years after Euripides's death, which would explain its incongruity.