1-127.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-1
1-127: Prologue
(πρόλογος).
1-87.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-2
1-87: First Scene. Cratos and Bia, dragging the figure representing Prometheus, enter on the left; He- phaestus with smith's tools accompa- nies them.
18.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-16
18.
Θέμιδος : see Introduction, p. 17.
αἰπυμῆτα : contrasted with
ὀρθο-
βούλου.
αἰπυμήτης, of towering thoughts, is one who in his shrewdness and sagacity aspires to too lofty things. Cp.
εὔβουλος
Θέμις, Pind. Isth. vii. 32. - The dactyl substituted for the third iambus of the tragic trimeter is very frequent; whereas in the first foot Aeschylus uses it seldom, and chiefly in proper names (730). In this play the dactyl in the third foot occurs eighteen times: it is always divided in the middle by the caesura, its long first syllable being either the end of a polysyllabic word, or a word of one syllable closely connected with the foregoing
(δέ 1009,
τὶς 1027). Ср. note on 2.
19.
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19.
ἄκοντα
σ'
ἄκων: cp. 671
ἄκου-
σαν
ἄκων, 218
ἑκόνθ᾽
ἑκόντι, Eur. Cycl. 258
ἑκὼν
ἑκοῦσι,
Ηipp. 319
οὐχ
ἑκοῦσαν
οὐχ
ἑκών. The poets are very fond of repetitions like this, in which the same word is twice used, referring to different persons. Further instances are Od. v. 155
παρ᾿
οὐκ
ἐθέλων
ἐθε-
λούσῃ =
οὐκ
ἐθέλων
παρ᾽
ἐθελούσῃ, iii. 272
τὴν
δ᾽
ἐθέλων
ἐθέλουσαν
ἀνήγαγεν,
ν.97
εἰρωτᾷς
μ᾽
ἐλθόντα
θεὰ
θεόν, Aesch. Cho. 89
παρὰ
φίλης
φίλῳ
φέρειν
γυναι-
κὸς
ἀνδρί, and below 29, 192, 276, 762, 921.
20.
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20.
ἀπανθρώπῳ: see note on
ἄβρο-
τον, 2. The idea is further expanded in the next verses. 'Eximia arte cu- mulavit poeta infinitam mali magnitu- dinem' (Hermann). -
πάγῳ: Hesy- chius has the gloss
πάγοι·
αἱ
ἐξοχαὶ
τῶν
πετρῶν
καὶ
τῶν
ὀρῶν. Cp. Od.
ν. 411
ἔκτοσθεν
μὲν
γὰρ
πάγοι
ὀξέες.
21.
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21.
του: the pronoun
τὶς, like the prepositions, is often, in poetical dic- tion, placed in
the second member of a disjunctive sentence, when it really belongs to both members. Cp. 156; Soph. Ant. 257
οὔτε
θηρὸς
οὔτε
του
κυνῶν, Eur. Hec. 370
οὔτ᾽
ἐλπίδος
γὰρ
οὔτε
του
δόξης, Soph. Trach. 3
οὔτ᾽
εἰ
χρηστὸς
οὔτ᾽
εἴ
τῳ
κακός, 1254
σπαραγ-
μὸν
ἤ
τιν᾿
οἶστρον,
Ο.
Τ. 816
ῷ
μὴ
ξένων
ἔξεστι
μηδ᾽
ἀστῶν
τινα
δόμοις
δέχεσθαι, Od. iv. 87
οὔτε
ἄναξ
ἐπιδευὴς
οὔτε
τι
ποιμήν, Solon Frg. 4, 12
οὔθ'
ἱερῶν
κτεά-
νων
οὔτε
τι
δημοσίων
φειδόμενοι. See on 458.
22.
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22.
ὄψει: belongs by zeugma to
φωνήν as well as
μορφήν : neither a voice (shalt thou hear) nor yet a form shalt thou see. Cp. Suppl. 1006
πρὸς
ταῦτα
μὴ
πάθωμεν
ὧν
πολὺς
πόνος,
πολὺς
δὲ
πόντος
εἵνεκ᾽
ἠρόθη
δορί. ‘Frequentis- sime hoc fit ubi grammatici
αἴσθησιν
ἀντὶ
αἰσθήσεωs poni aiunt, quibus in locis cum nomine notio verbi congen- eris tacite comprehenditur' (Lobeck). ·
σταθευτός :
φλογιζόμενος·
σταθεύειν
γὰρ
τὸ
κατ᾿
ὀλίγον
ὀπτᾶν
φασὶν
᾿Αττι-
κοί, Schol.
σταθευτός·
πεφλογισμένος
ἠρέμα, Hesych. That is, scorched. From
στατός and
εὕω. - After 15
(δυ-
σχειμέρῳ) we should expect rather the baleful effects of cold to be men- tioned. But a Greek's imagination would be more vividly affected by a description of the sun's scorching heat; the allusion to cold follows later (25). -
φοίβῃ: cp.
φοῖβον
ὕδωρ Hesiod Frg. 78.
φοῖβον
δὲ
δήπου
τὸ
καθαρὸν
καὶ
ἁγνὸν
οἱ
παλαιοὶ
πᾶν
ὠνόμα- Cov Plut. Mor. 493 c. - Notice the alliteration
φοίβῃ
φλογί, and cp. Sept. 661
φλύοντα
σὺν
φοίτῳ
φρενῶν,
Αg. 492
φῶς
ἐφήλωσεν
φρένας. – This passage seems to be parodied in a fragment preserved in Eustath. Comm. Od. p. 1484, 27,
χρόαν
δὲ
τὴν
σὴν
ἥλιος
λάμ-.
πων
φλογὶ
αἰγυπτιώσει.
23.
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23.
χροιάς :
χροιά, corresponding to Ionic
χροιή, is an older and less trite form for the common
χρόα. Simi- larly we have
ποία and
πόα,
ῥοιά and
ῥόα,
στοιά (Ar. Eccl. 676, 684, 686) and
στοά. -
ἄνθος: used as here of the color of the skin in Solon Frg. 27, 5
τῇ
τριτάτῃ
δὲ
γένειον
ἀεξομένων
ἔτι
γυίων
λαχνοῦται
χροιῆς
ἄνθος
ἀμειβομένης, Theodectes Frg. 17
ἧς
ἀγχιτέρμων
ἥλιος
διφρηλατῶν
σκοτει-
νὸν
ἄνθος
ἐξέχρωσε
λιγνύος
εἰς
σώματ᾽
ἀνδρῶν (of the black color of the Ethiopians); of the color of the hair, Soph. O. T. 742
λευκανθὲς
κάρα, Babr. 22.8
τῶν
τριχῶν
ἔτιλλεν
ἃς
ηὕρισκε
λευ-
κανθιζούσας; of color generally, Hdt. 1. 98
οὕτω
πάντων
τῶν
κύκλων
οἱ
προμα-
χεῶνες
ἠνθισμένοι
εἰσὶ
φαρμάκοισι (col- ored with paints). -
ἀσμένῳ: Il. xiv. 108
ἐμοὶ
δέ
κεν
ἀσμένῳ
εἴη, Soph. Trach. 18
ἀσμένῃ
δέ
μοι
ὁ
κλεινὸς
ἦλθε ...
παῖς, Eur. Phoen. 1043
χρόνῳ
δ᾽
ἔβα
τότ᾽
ἀσμένοις, Ar. Pax 582
ἀσμένοισιν
ἦλθες
ἡμῖν,
φιλτάτη. On this dative of a participle of feeling, chiefly used with
εἶναι and verbs of coming, see G. 184, 3, N. 5; H. 771 a. For the thought, cp. Deuteronomy xxviii. 67, 'In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning!'
24.
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24.
ποικιλείμων: from
ποικίλος and
εἶμα.
ποικίλον
ἔνδυμα
ἔχουσα,
διὰ
τὸ
πεποικίλθαι
τοῖς
ἄστροις, Schol. For
ποικίλος, cp. Soph. Trach. 94
αἰόλα
νύξ, Eur. Hel. 1096
ἀστέρων
ποικίλματα, Frg. 596
ὀρφναία
νὺξ
αἰολόχρως
ἄκριτός
τ᾽
ἄστρων
ὄχλος. For the second part,
εἶμα, cp. Eur. Ion 1150
μελάμπεπλος
νύξ, Orph. Argonaut. 1031
νὺξ
ἀστροχί-
των (511
μήνη
ἀστροχίτων), Claudian Rapt. Proserp. ii. 363 nox picta sinus. –
ἀποκρύψει : initial
κρ, with the aid of the ictus, makes a long syl- lable; cp. 659 below
θεοπρόπους, Eum. 403
ἄτρυτον, Pers. 217
ἀποτροπήν, 395
ἐπέφλεγεν. –
ἀποκρύψει
φαος: Archil. Frg. 74
Ζεὺς
πατὴρ
Ὀλυμπίων
ἐκ
με-
σημβρίης
ἔθηκε
νύκτ᾽
ἀποκρύψας
φάος
ἡλίου
λάμποντος.
26.
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26.
ἀεὶ
δὲ
κτἑ.: the sense is, "ever will some evil be with thee, the pain of which shall make thee wretched," "one evil will ever be followed by another."
27.
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27.
ὁ
λωφήσων : cp. Soph. Ant. 261
οὐδ᾽
ὁ
κωλύσων
παρῆν,
Εl. 1197
οὐδ᾽
οὑπαρήξων
οὐδ᾽
ὁ
κωλύσων
πάρα. See also 771 below; Soph. Phil. 1242
τίς
ἔσται
μ᾽
οὐπικωλύσων
τάδε. The scholi- ast wrongly understands a particular person (Heracles).
λωφάω is here transitive, in 376 intransitive. In this use of the participle the object is commonly omitted. -
οὐ
πέφυκέ
πω:
οὔπω separated, as in 511, Pers. 179, Cho. 747, Eum. 590, Frg. 280, 5. In saying thy deliverer has yet to be born, Hephaestus means only, "no living soul can deliver thee."
28.
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28.
ἐπηύρου: of the verb
ἐπαυρίσκο-
μαι only the second aorist
ἐπηυρόμην is used by the tragic poets.
ἐπηύρου is here ironical; such reward thou didst reap! Cp. Il. i. 410; and xv. 16
οὐ
μὰν
οἶδ᾽
εἰ
αὖτε
κακορραφίης
ἀλεγεινῆς
πρώτη
ἐπαυρήαι,
καί
σε
πληγῇσιν
ἱμάσσω.
29.
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29.
θεὸς
θεῶν (see on 19): said with reference to
βροτοῖσι. The gods have a common interest as opposed to mortals.
θεῶν modifies
τιμάς.
ὑποπτήσσων: cp. 175, 960.
30.
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30.
τιμάς : distinctive possessions, privileges, prerogatives, like
γέρα, 107. See on 229. –
πέρα
δίκης: this, in the mouth of the
well-disposed Hephaes- tus, must be taken as expressing the poet's own sentiment.
31.
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31.
φρουρήσεις: said in reference to the sleeplessness mentioned in the next verse.
Α
φρουρός is forbidden to sleep.
-ἀτερπή : cp.
ἄζηλον 143; Od. xi. 94
ὄφρα
ἴδῃς
νέκυας
καὶ
ἀτερπέα
χῶρον.
32.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-29
32.
ὀρθοστάδην: see Introduction, p. 5, footnote 3. –
κάμπτων
γόνυ: of taking a posture of rest ;
γόνυ
κάμψαι·
ἀναπαύεσθαι, Hesych. Cp. 396; Il. vii. 118
φημί
μιν
ἀσπασίως
γόνυ
κάμψειν,
εἴ
κε
φύγῃσιν
δηΐου
ἐκ
πολέμοιο, Eur. Hec. 1080, 1150; Catull. lxiv. 303 niveos flexerunt sedibus artus.
33.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-30
33.
πολλοὺς
δ᾽
ὀδυρμούς:
προανα-
φωνεῖ
τὰς
μονῳδίας
αὐτοῦ, Schol.
35.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-31
35.
νέον: adverbial. See Krüger II. § 46, 6, 7. The same thought recurs 96, 149, 310, 389, 942, 955.
38.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-32
38.
προύδωκεν : like
κλέψας
ὤπασεν,
8.-Cratos begins this angry collo- quy with three verses (cp. 613), but afterwards speaks regularly two; He- phaestus speaks single verses through- out, in accordance with his gruff and
blunt-spoken nature. -
ὅστις: has a qualitative force, one who betrayed (was such as to betray) = since he be- trayed. So 759; Pers. 744
παῖς
δ᾽
ἐμὸς
τάδ᾽
οὐ
κατειδὼς
ἤνυσεν
νέῳ
θράσει,
ὅστις ...
ἤλπισε. ence.
39.
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39.
δεινόν: mighty, a mighty influ- Cp. Sept. 1031
δεινὸν
τὸ
κοινὸν
σπλάγχνον
οὗ
πεφύκαμεν, Soph. El. 770
δεινὸν
τὸ
τίκτειν
ἐστίν, Eur. Andr. 985
τὸ
συγγενὲς
γὰρ
δεινόν, Phoen. 355
δεί-
νὸν
γυναιξὶν
αἱ
δι
ὠδίνων
γοναί, Iph.
Α. 917
δεινὸν
τὸ
τίκτειν
καὶ
φέρει
φίλ-
τρον
μέγα. –
ὁμιλία: Quint. Decl. 321 consuetudo alienos etiam ac nulla necessitudine inter se
DIOV
TE
NJE coniunctos componere et ad- stringere officiis potest.
41.
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41.
οἷόν
τε; licet? is it allowa- ble? Cp. Ar. Thesm. 3
οἷόν
τε ...
παρὰ
σοῦ
πυθέσθαι; may a body ask? —
πῶς
οὐ: cp. 589, 759; Soph. Ai. 677
ἡμεῖς
δὲ
πῶς
οὐ
γνωσόμεσθα
σωφρονεῖν; Ar. Nub. 398
καὶ
πῶς,
εἴπερ
βάλλει ·
τοὺς
ἐπιόρκους,
δῆτ᾽
οὐχὶ
Σίμων᾽
ἐνέ-
πρησεν; Isocr. Paneg. 175
πῶς
οὐ
χρὴ
διαλύειν
ταύτας
τὰς
ὁμολογίας; –
δει-
μαίνεις ; refers to the foregoing
δεινόν.
42.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-35
42. The first and second persons of
εἰμί are less often omitted, yet see 178, 246, 320, 373, 987. Only with
ἕτοιμος is the omission common; here it occurs even though
ἐγώ is left out. Cp. Soph. Ai. 813
χωρεῖν
ἕτοιμος (sc.
εἰμί),
Ο.
Τ. 92, Eur. Med. 612. In 475 below, the missing
σύ can be sup- plied from the preceding
σεαυτόν. See Krüger I. § 62, 1, 5.
46.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-36
46.
νὶν: in tragedy this word stands for all genders, in singular and in plural. G. 79, 1,
Ν. 4; H. 261 D a. –
ὡς
ἁπλῷ
λόγῳ: equivalent to
ὡς
ἁπλῶς
εἰπεῖν, to speak plainly, bluntly. Ср. 975.
48.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-37
48. Cp. Eur. Iph.
Α. 86
τἀξίωμα
δὲ
ἄλλος
τις
ὤφελ᾽
ἀντ᾿
ἐμοῦ
λαβεῖν
τόδε.
49.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-38
49 f. The sense is, "another sta- tion would have another burden: every one is bound to service and obedience save Zeus, the sovereign ruler; he alone commands all and obeys none”
(ὑπ᾽
ἀρχᾶς
οὔτινος
θοάζων, Suppl. 595). –
ἐπαχθῆ: vexatious, dis- agreeable. –
κοιρανεῖν : with dative, like
ἄρχειν 940,
ἐπιδεσπόζει
στρατῷ Pers. 241. See Krüger II. § 47, 20, 3.
51.
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51.
ἔγνωκα
τοῖσδε: I recognize it (the truth of what you say) by this (what is here going on). –
οὐδὲν
ἀντειπεῖν : sc.
τὸ
μὴ
οὐ
τὰ
ἐπιτεταγμένα
ποιεῖν.
52.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-40
52.
δεσμὰ
περιβαλεῖν : resolution in the fifth foot is very rare in trag- edy. This is the only case in the Prometheus. See on 2.
53.
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53.
ἐλινύοντα:
ἐλινύω is absolute here, but is construed with a partici- ple in 529.
54.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-42
54.
ψέλια : the best manuscript has
ψάλια, others
ψέλια. Ammonius gives the distinction:
ψάλια
μὲν
τὸ
τοῦ
ἵππου,
ψέλιον
δὲ
τὸ
ἄκροις
βραχίοσι
περι
τιθέμενον
κόσμιον. With such brace-
let-like clamps Prometheus is fastened in the paintings described in the In- trod., p. 5, footnote
3.-δέρκεσθαι : said with reference to
προσδερχθῇ above.
55.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-43
55 f.
νὶν:
τὰ
ψέλια, Schol. ; see on 46. –
ἐγκρατεῖ
σθένει,
ῥαιστήρι : of these two datives the one denotes the inner power (dynamic dative), the other the external means (instrumen- tal dative).
ἐγκρατεῖ
σθένει nearly =
ἐγκρατῶς. In Il. xviii. 477 Hephaes- tus wields a
ῥαιστὴρ
κρατερή.
56.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-44
56.
θεῖνε
πασσάλευε : the connective is omitted ('asyndeton') when a sin- gle idea is expressed by two or more verbs, the second being a stronger ex- pression than the first.
Ср. 58, 141, 392, 608, 698, 937; Pers. 426
ἔπαιον
ἐρράχιζον, 463
παίουσι
κρεοκοποῦσι, Cho. 289
κινεῖ
ταράσσει, Sept. 60
χωρεῖ
κοι
νίει, 186
αύειν
λακάζειν, Soph. Ai. 60
ὤτρυνον
εἰσέβαλλον
εἰς
ἕρκη
κακά, 115, 811, 844, 988, Ant. 1037
κερδαίνετ'
ἐμπολᾶτε,
Εl. 719
ἤφριζον
εἰσέβαλλον
ἱππικαὶ
πνοαί, Trach. 1255
ἐγκονεῖτ᾽
αἴρεσθε, Eur. Hec. 507
σπεύδωμεν
ἐγκο-
νῶμεν, Phoen. 1434
ἔκλαι᾽
ἐθρήνει.
57.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-45
57.
ματᾷ:
διατρίβει,
χρονίζει,
He- sych.
59.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-46
59. Cp. Ar.
Εq. 758
ποικίλος
γὰρ
ἁνὴρ
κἀκ
τῶν
ἀμηχάνων
πόρους
εὐμή-
χανος
πορίζειν.
61.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-47
61.
πόρπασον : long à (not n), as in
πόρπαμα Eur. El. 820. Cp.
ἐκθοινά-
σεται 1025
(θοινατῆρος Ag. 1502,
θοί-
ναμα Eur. Ion 1495), and other tragic forms, as
εὐνατήρ Pers. 137,
εὐνάτειρα Pers. 157,
ποινάτωρ Ag. 1281,
ἱπποβά-
μων 805 below and Supp. 284,
έκα-
τογκάρανος 353
(καρανοῦται Cho. 528),
κυναγός,
βαλός,
γάπεδον,
γάμοροι,
γάπο-
τος,
ἕκατι,
δαρόν,
δάιος, and others.
62.
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62.
σοφιστής: in Aeschylus's time this word had not acquired the mean- ing which Socrates and Plato after- wards gave it, and which through their influence passed into history. Cp. Athen. xiv. 632 c
πάντας
τοὺς
χρω-
μένους
τῇ
τέχνῃ
ταύτῃ (i.e.
τῇ
μουσικῇ)
σοφιστὰς
ἀπεκάλουν,
ὥσπερ
καὶ
Αἰσχύ-
λος
ἐποίησεν
'εἴτ᾽
οὖν
σοφιστὴς
κᾶλα
παραπαίων
χέλυν.' In this play, both here and 944, the word implies a crafty and unscrupulous cleverness.
Cp. the sense of
σοφίζομαι in Soph. Phil. 77
ἀλλ᾿
αὐτὸ
τοῦτο
δεῖ
σοφισθῆ-
ναι,
κλοπεὺς
ὅπως
γένηται
τῶν
ἀνικήτων
ὅπλων. –
ὤν : the speaker does not mean that Zeus is a
σοφιστής. Logi- cally only
Διὸς
νωθέστερος belongs to
μάθῃ
ὤν.
σοφιστής, though grammat- ically a predicate, refers only to Pro- metheus. The general sense is, "may learn that with all his artfulness he is
slower-witted than Zeus."
64.
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64.
αὐθάδη: with this epithet the Homeric
νηλέϊ
χαλκῷ,
λᾶας
ἀναιδής, and the Euripidean
λάβρῳ
μαχαίρᾳ, Cycl. 403, may be compared. –
γνά-
θον: cp.
γένus used in the sense of
πέλεκυς in Soph. El. 196 and 485, Phil. 1205, and
πελέκεων
γνάθοις in Eur. Cycl. 395.
65.
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65.
στέρνων
διαμπάξ: the passage of Hesiod, Theog. 521,
δῆσε
δ᾽
ἀλυκτο-
πέδησι
Προμηθέα
ποικιλόβουλον
δεσμοῖς
ἀργαλέοισι
μέσον
διὰ
κίον᾽
ἐλάσσας, which should be construed
ἐλάσσας
(τὰ
δεσμὰ)
διὰ
μέσον
κίονα, riveting the chains through the middle of the pillar, was wrongly understood as
ἐλάσσας
κίονα
διὰ
μέσον
(τὸν
Προμηθέα). Ac- cordingly, on an ancient
black-figured vase, found at Chiusi and now in the Berlin Museum (No. 1722; Jahn, Archaeologische Beiträge, Plate viii.; Baumeister, Denkmäler fig. 1566), we find Prometheus represented as ac- tually impaled (on an upright stake passed lengthwise through the body). This revolting conception was modi- fied by Aeschylus into one more endurable for the eye. Even in He- siod's narrative the original notion is obscured: the older legend doubtless meant by the pillar a
κίων
οὐράνιος, that is, a sharp
mountain-peak rear- ing itself to the sky. See on 349.
66.
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66.
ὑπό : because of, by reason of, denoting the cause; as Thuc. ii. 85
ὑπὸ
ἀνέμων
καὶ
ὑπὸ
ἀπλοίας
ἐνδιέτριψεν
οὐκ
ὀλίγον
χρόνον,
ίν. 8
ὑλώδης
τε
καὶ
ἀτριβὴς
πᾶσα
ὑπ᾽
ἐρημίας
ἦν (sc.
ἡ
νῆ-
σος), Soph. Ant. 221
ὑπ᾽
ἐλπίδων
ἄνδρας
τὸ
κέρδος
πολλάκις
διώλεσεν, also Ag. 475
πυρὸς
δ᾽
ὑπ᾿
εὐαγγέλου
πόλιν
διήκει
θοὰ
βάξις.
67.
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67.
αὖ
κατοκνεῖς : see 36. –
ἐχθρῶν
ὕπερ: the tragedians often put the preposition after its noun when an attributive (as in 653 a genitive) follows both. Otherwise, the post- ponement of the preposition (with anastrophe of the accent) is per-
mitted in trimeter, as a rule, only when the preposition comes thereby to stand at the end of a verse. This occurs most frequently with
περί,
μετά,
παρά,
ὑπό,
ὑπέρ,
ἀπό, and
ἐπί, in con- nexion with the genitive. The re- maining cases in Aeschylus are: with the dative,
ὑπό 365 below and Pers. 190,
ἐπί Suppl. 1003,
μετά Pers. 613; with the accusative,
περί Pers. 61.
68.
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68.
ὅπως
μή
κτέ.: for this form of warning see GMT. 272; G. 217,
N. 4;
Η. 886.
70.
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70.
ὀρῶ: said with emphasis after
ὁρᾷς.
71.
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71.
μασχαλιστήρας : iron girths, passed round the body and nailed to the rock on either side.
72.
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72. The asyndeton of the two clauses (instead of
μηδὲν
ἐγκέλευ᾿
ἄγαν,
ἀνάγκη
γὰρ
ταῦτα
δρᾶν: see on 373 f.) expresses irritation. Krüger I. § 59, 1, 8, and II. § 59, 1, 7. Im- patience at the repeated admonitions is also implied in the compound
ἐγκέ-
λευε, command imperiously, urgently.
73.
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73.
ἡ
μὴν
κελεύσω: defiant reply to Hephaestus's demand. -
ἐπιθωύξω : ср. 277, 393, 1041; Eur. Hipp. 219
κυσὶ
θωύξαι. The scholiast on 277 remarks,
ἡ
μεταφορὰ
ἀπὸ
τῶν
κυνηγῶν: that is, the verb was properly used of a hunter's call to his dogs. –
καὶ
γέ: et quidem; yé serves to emphasize the stronger statement. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 610
ΠΟ.
ὅς
μ᾽
ἄμοιρον
ἐξελαύνεις.
ΕΤ.
καὶ
κατακτενῶ
γε
πρός. -
πρός: adverbial. Cp.
πρὸς
δέ 929,
καὶ
πρός Cho. 299. G. 191,
Ν. 2;
Η. 785. ...
74.
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74.
χώρει
κάτω: the scholiast un- derstands this literally :
διὰ
τοῦ
῾χώ-
ρει
κάτω᾿
τὸ
μέγεθος
ἐνέφηνε
τοῦ
δεσμευομένου
θεοῦ. But it may mean simply, "proceed to the lower limbs."
κίρκωσον:
ἀντὶ
τοῦ
κρίκωσον, Schol.
κρίκος, ring, is read in Il. xxiv. 272. The older form
κίρκος (circus) sur- vived in the name of the bird (Od. xiii. 86
ἴρηξ
κίρκος): see 857. Simi- lar are the Attic forms
φάρξαι for
φράξαι,
δαρχμή for
δραχμή.
76.
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76.
διατόρους
πέδας:
πέδας is ge- neric, as in 6.
διάτορος is here passive, perforated; the active sense (see 181) is more common. Schütz and Her- mann understand it of holes origi- nally made in the fetters for the reception of the nails. Rather it means "pierced by nails," "having nails driven through them," as in Soph. O. T. 1034
διατόρους
ποδοῖν
ἀκμάς means "feet pierced with needles."
θεῖνε then refers to the nails. Hephaes- tus
is bidden, before departing, to examine once more the different fas- tenings and drive the nails in each firmly home. - On the resolution, see note on 2. Three other resolutions of this foot occur (273, 680, 809). In 273 the second and third shorts of the tribrach are formed by a disyllable
(διά); in 809 they begin a word of three syllables; in 680, as here, they begin a word of four syllables.
77.
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77. Cp. 53 and 68. –
ἐπιτιμητής : cp. Pers. 827
Ζεύς
τοι
κολαστὴς
τῶν
ὑπερκόπων
ἄγαν
φρονημάτων
ἔπεστιν,
εὔθυνος
βαρύς, Soph. Frg. 478
κολασταὶ
κἀπιτιμηταὶ
κακῶν, Eur. Suppl. 255
τούτων
κολαστὴν
κἀπιτιμητήν,
ἄναξ.
78.
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78.
ὅμοια
μορφῃ:
ὡς
ἐκτραπέλου (grotesque)
πεποιημένου
τοῦ
προσώπου (mask)
αὐτοῦ, Schol.
79.
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79.
μαλθακίζου: on this use of the imperative to denote a permission, see Krüger I. § 54, 4, 2.
80.
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80.
ὀργῆς: violent nature.
81.
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81.
κώλοισιν: the dative depends on the notion of
ἀμφιβάλλειν implied in
ἀμφίβληστρ᾽
ἔχει. – Hephaestus, with these words, quietly goes his way, while Cratos remains to give further vent to his scorn. In this way time was secured for the retiring ac- tor to take his position for the part of Prometheus. See Introduction, p. 23.
82.
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82.
Cp. Il. xxi. 120
τὸν
δ'
᾿Αχι-
λεὺς
ποταμόνδε
λαβὼν
ποδὸς
ἧκε
φέρε-
σθαι,
καί
οἱ
ἐπευχόμενος
ἔπεα
πτερόεντ'
ἀγόρευεν·
ἐνταυθοῖ
νῦν
κεῖσο
μετ᾿
ἰχθύ-
σιν
κτέ., Od. xviii. 105
ἐνταυθοῖ
νῦν
ἦσο
σύας
τε
κύνας
τ᾿
ἀπερύκων
κτέ., Ar. Thesm. 1001
ἐνταῦθα
νῦν
οἰμῶξι
πρὸς
τὴν
αἰτρίαν, also Vesp. 149, Plut. 724.
83.
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83.
ἐφημέροισι: see on 546 f., and
ср. 253, 945, Eur. Orest. 976
ἰὰ
ἰώ,
πανδάκρυτ᾽
ἐφαμέρων
ἔθνη
πολύπονα, Ar. Nub. 223 (Socrates speaks as a god)
τί
με
καλεῖς,
ὦ
᾿φήμερε, Cic. Tusc. i. 39, 94 apud Hypanim fluvium... Aristoteles ait bestiolas quasdam nasci, quae unum diem vivant (Aris- totle H. An. v. 19, calls these animals
ἐφήμερα) . . Confer nostram longissimam aetatem cum aeternitate; in eadem prope- modum brevitate qua illae bestiolae reperiemur.
86.
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86. The construction
δεῖ
τινά
τινος is not elsewhere found in Aeschylus, but occurs several times in Euripides (Hec. 1021, Phoen. 470, Hipp. 23, Ion 1018, H. F. 1170, Rhes. 837).
G.
172, 2,
Ν. 2;
Η. 712 b. –
προμηθέως: the proper name is here used as an appel- lative,
fore-thinker, counsellor. Cp. Pind. Ol. vii. 79
ἐν
δ᾽
ἀρετὰν
ἔβαλεν
καὶ
χάρματ᾽
ἀνθρώποισι
Προμαθέος
αἰ-
δώς. Etymological interpretations of proper names are frequent in Aeschy- lus. His view on the subject is ex- pressed Ag. 681:
τίς
ποτ᾿
ὠνόμαζεν
ὧδ᾽
ἐς
τὸ
πᾶν
ἐτητύμως;
μή
τις
ὅντιν᾿
οὐχ
ὁρῶμεν
προνοίαισι
τοῦ
πε-
πρωμένου
γλῶσσαν
ἐν
τύχᾳ
νέ-
μων; where
Ἑλένα is explained as
ἑλέναυς,
ἕλανδρος,
ἑλέπτολις. Cp. ibid. 1080
᾿Απόλλων ...
ἀπόλλων
ἐμός, and similar cases, Sept. 658, 829, 536; ср. also Od. i. 60
οὔ
νύ
τ᾿
Ὀδυσσεὺς
χαρίζετο
ἱερὰ
ῥέζων;
τί
νύ
οἱ
τόσον
ὠδύ-
σαο,
Ζεῦ; Eur. Phoen. 636
ἀληθῶς
δ᾽
ὄνομα
Πολυνείκην
πατὴρ
ἔθετό
σοι
θείᾳ
προνοίᾳ
νεικέων
ἐπώνυμον. On the thought, cp. 474 f. below, and the passage of Mark there quoted.
87.
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87.
ὅτῳ
τρόπῳ
ἐκκυλισθήσει: cp. Eur. Med. 322
οὐκ
ἔχεις
τέχνην,
ὅπως
μενεῖς
παρ'
ἡμῖν, Thuc. i. 107
ἔδοξε
δ'
αὐτοῖς ...
σκέψασθαι,
ὅτῳ
τρόπῳ
ἀσφα-
λέστατα
διαπορεύσονται. The clause depends on the verbal idea
τοῦ
προμη-
θουμένου implied in
προμηθέως. –
τέ-
χνης:
τῶν
δεσμῶν, Schol.; another scholiast,
τοῦ
τεχνηέντως
κατεσκευ-
ασμένου
δεσμοῦ. Cp. Soph. O. C. 472
κρατῆρες
εἰσίν,
ἀνδρὸς
εὔχειρος
τέχνη, Frg. III. of the Prom. Solutus below, 8, qua miser sollertia transver- beratus. Prometheus is bound hand and foot, so that he cannot stir. This serves to excite the spectators' com- passion (cp. 32), but it also affords a reason for the immobility, during the entire play, of the figure representing Prometheus. See Introduction, p. 22.
88-127.
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88-127. Second Scene. Pro- metheus alone. With this invocation of the elements cp. Il. iii. 277
ἠέλιός
θ'
ὃς
πάντ᾽
ἐφορᾶς
καὶ
πάντ᾽
ἐπακούεις,
καὶ
ποταμοὶ
καὶ
γαῖα, Soph. Phil. 936&
λιμένες,
ὦ
προβλῆτες,
ὦ
ξυνουσίαι
θηρῶν
ὀρείων,
ὦ
καταρρῶγες
πέτραι,
ὑμῖν
τάδ',
οὐ
γὰρ
ἄλλον
οἶδ᾽
ὅτῳ
λέγω,
ἀνακλαίομαι. Apsines (Rhet. Gr. ed. Spengel I. p. 400) says:
κινεῖ
δὲ
ἔλεον
καὶ
λόγος
πρὸς
τόπον
τινὰ
γινόμενος.
88.
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88.
δῖος: heavenly, from the root
δι-,
δις- (Sanskrit di-, shine). Cp. Il.
χνί. 365
αἰθέρος
ἐκ
δίης
ὅτε
τε
Ζεὺς
λαίλαπα
τείνῃ. —
ταχύπτεροι : said fig- uratively, with reference to the physi- cal impression made by a passing breeze. Actual winged daemons the guise in which the Winds and similar beings are depicted in ancient art- are not here to be understood.
90.
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90.
ἀνήριθμον
γέλασμα : of the slightly ruffled surface of the sea, lighted up by the sun. Cp. Il. xix. 362
γέλασσε
δὲ
πᾶσα
περὶ
χθὼν
χαλκοῦ
ὑπὸ
στεροπῆς. The verb
yeλᾶν often denotes merriment or cheerfulness in a figurative sense; thus Hesiod Theog. 40
γελᾷ
δέ
τε
δώματα
πατρὸς . . .
θεᾶν
ὀπὶ
λειριοέσσῃ
σκιδναμένῃ. The scholi- ast on our passage renders
γέλασμα by
διάχυμα. In a different sense Catullus, lxiv. 273, says of the
sea-waves leni resonant plangore cachinni. –
παμμήτορ
γῆ: cp. Hom. Hymn xxx. 1
γαῖαν
παμμήτειραν, Cho. 127
γαῖαν
ἡ
τὰ
πάντα
τίκτεται.
91.
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91.
καὶ ...
καλῶ:
ἤλλαξε
τὴν
φράσιν, Schol. Cp. Soph.
Αi. 859 &
φέγγος,
ὦ
γῆς
ἱερὸν
οἰκείας
πέδον
Σαλαμῖνος,
ὦ
πατρῷον
ἑστίας
βάθρον
κλειναί
τ᾽
᾿Αθῆναι,
καὶ
τὸ
σύντροφον
γένος,
κρῆναί
τε
ποτα-
μοί
θ'
οἵδε,
καὶ
τὰ
Τρωικὰ
πεδία
προσαυδῶ,
χαίρετ',
ὦ
τροφῆς
ἐμοί, also O. C. 1091. —
κύκλον : cp. Pers. 504
λαμπρὸς
ἡλίου
κύκλος. This expres- sion (like orbis solis) had its origin in ancient conceptions of the sun as a wheel of fire. In the Edda the sun is called fagravhel, that is,
'fair-wheel,' 'wheel of brightness.' See Grimm's Deutsche Mythologie, I. 586, II. 664.
92.
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92.
πρὸς
θεῶν:
πρός
τινος and
ἔκ
τι-
νος, for
ὑπό
τινος, are common in He- rodotus and the tragedians. Krüger II. § 52, 3, 1.
πάσχειν
ἐκ Occurs 759,
πάσχειν
ὑπό 1041.
93.
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93 f. The transition from iambi to anapaests marks an outbreak of more violent passion. At 101, with a calmer mood, the quieter rhythm returns.
αἰκίαισιν (=
ἀεικελίοις
μόχθοις)
δια-
κναιόμενος : cp. 541. -
τὸν
μυριετή
χρόνον: said like
τὸν
πλείω
χρόνον, (Ar. Ran. 160, Thuc. iv. 117),
τὸν
πάντα
χρόνον (Ar. Nub. 462).
μυριετῆ·
πολυετῆ·
ἐν
γὰρ
τῷ
πυρφόρῳ
τρεῖς
μυ-
ριάδας
φησὶ
δεδέσθαι
αὐτόν, Schol. (cp. Hygin. Poet. astr. ii. 15). Both num- bers are merely hyperbolic expres- sions for a very long time. –
ἀθλεύσω : absolute, suffer. Cp. Il. xxiv. 734
ἀθ-
λεύων
πρὸ
ἄνακτος
ἀμειλίχου. The word is Ionic.
