The Hall (23-24)

“Next to this picture is portrayed another righteous deed, for which the painter derived his model, I suppose, from Euripides or Sophocles, inasmuch as they have portrayed the subject in the same way. [*] The two youthful comrades Pylades of Phocis and Orestes (supposed to be dead) have secretly entered the palace and are slaying Aegisthus. Clytemnestra is already slain and is stretched on a bed half-naked, and the whole household is stunned by tle deed— some are shouting, apparently, and others casting about for a way of escape. It was a noble device on the painter’s part simply to indicate the impious element in the undertaking and pass it over as an

“Next is a handsome god and a pretty boy, a scene of fond foolery. Branchus, sitting on a rock, is holding up a hare and teasing his dog, while the dog is apparently going to spring up at him; Apollo, standing near, is smiling in amusement at the tricks of the lad and the efforts of the dog.