The Erinyes, in the play of Aeschylus, are transformed into Semnae, into the local goddesses of Athens. Of this there is no shadow of doubt. They accept the citizenship of Pallas[662], and they are actually hailed as Semnae[663]. Aeschylus it is true never definitely states that they entered the cleft of the Areopagos, but Euripides, manifestly borrowing from him, is as has been seen explicit. Such a conversion may have been gratifying to the patriotism of an Athenian audience, but Athenian though he is, it is not the glorification of a local cult that inspires Aeschylus; it is the reconciliation of the old order of vengeance with the new law of mercy. It is significant in this connection that Aeschylus, or some one who took his meaning, gave to the play the title, not as we should expect of _Semnae_, but of _Eumenides_. The moral of the play is thereby emphasized. It is, to say the least, curious that a play called traditionally, if not by the author, the ‘_Eumenides_’ should contain no single mention of the Eumenides by this name. Harpocration[664], commenting on the word Eumenides, says ‘Aeschylus _in the Eumenides_, recounting what happened about the trial of Orestes, says that Athene, having mollified the Erinyes so that they did not deal harshly with Orestes, called them Eumenides.’ Aeschylus says no such thing. The text of the play contains no mention of the Eumenides, though in the hypothesis prefixed to the text occur the following words: ‘Having prevailed by the counsel of Athene, he (Orestes) went to Argos, and when he had mollified the Erinyes he addressed them as Eumenides[665].’ Harpocration attributes to Athene in the play what the hypothesis notes as done by Orestes in the sequel at Argos. By his use of the word ‘mollified’ (πραΰνασα) he betrays, I think, the source of his information. It must always be remembered that the Orestes legend was native to Argos and at Argos the local cult was of Eumenides not Semnae. THE EUMENIDES.