How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used the translation by S. Gilbert found in No Exit and Three Other Plays, published by Vintage Books in 1989.
Quote #1
ZEUS
They've been getting fatter and fatter. Give them another fifteen years, and they'll be as big as toads. (1.1.27)
If the flies are representative of the guilt and remorse plaguing Argos, then there isn't much hope for a future for these people. All the repentance in the world doesn't seem to be alleviating their guilt – rather it worsens it.
Quote #2
ZEUS
A word, a single word, might have sufficed. But no one said it. […]
ORESTES
And you, too, said nothing? (1.1.38-39)
It sounds as though Orestes realizes at this point that he's dealing with a god. If this is the case, then his question holds far more significance, as he's addressing issues of fate, free will, and divine intervention.
Quote #3
ORESTES
And I thought the gods were just!
ZEUS
Steady, my friend. Don't blame the gods too hastily. Must they always punish? Wouldn't it be better to use such breaches of the law to point a moral? (1.1.42)
The system Zeus condones seems to allow for free will more than that suggested by Orestes. Zeus seems to imply that men can be instructed, and still allowed to act as they choose.