The play opens with a scene in front of the temple of Apollo at Delphi (the first of the play’s three settings). The Prologue begins with a speech by the Pythia, Apollo’s high priestess at Delphi. Preparing to open the temple to visitors, she describes the history of the site: Divine ownership of the temple was passed down from god to god, beginning with the earth goddess Gaia, and ending with Apollo, the son of Zeus. The Pythia enters the temple only to immediately come out, crawling on all fours. A terrible scene has driven her from the temple: Inside she saw the polluted Orestes sitting surrounded by the hideous Furies, who are all asleep. Stating that this is an affair for Apollo himself, the Pythia exits.

The god Apollo, accompanied by a silent Hermes, enters and addresses Orestes, who can be seen sitting inside the temple surrounded by the sleeping Furies. Promising that “I will not give you up” (64), Apollo describes trying to purify Orestes of his mother’s murder and instructs him to go to Athens. There, Orestes is to present himself as a suppliant in the temple of

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