561-886.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-375
561-886. Third Episode. Io and Prometheus. The myth of Io is connected with that of Prometheus by the person of Heracles, the libera- tor of Prometheus, who is descended from
paphus, the son of Zeus and Io (see on 774). The appearance of Io therefore prepares the way for the introduction of Heracles in the
Προ-
μηθεὺς
λυόμενος. But the immediate significance of this scene consists in the present relation of Zeus and Io. Io appears as innocent and yet perse- cuted; her sufferings, superficially considered, put Zeus in the worst possible light. Accordingly the in- dignation of Prometheus rises more and more, till at last, carried away by passion, he vaunts his secret in such terms that the interposition of Zeus becomes inevitable. So the transition to the catastrophe is pre- pared. The geographical part of this episode, with its description of marvels, like the scene of Heracles in the
Προμηθεὺς
λυόμενος (see below, Frg. VII. and VIII.), doubtless had a peculiar charm for the Athenians of the period. On the origin of the myth of Io, see Introd. p. 9, footnote. Io appears as a horned maiden (588, 674; so indi- cated by her mask). In early Greek art, especially in
vase-paintings, she has the figure of a cow outright. On the throne of the Amyclaean Apollo, a work of the sculptor Bathycles (about Ol. 60), Hera was represented as glaring at Io, 'who is already a cow' (Paus. iii. 18. 7). On an archaic
black-figured vase of the Munich collection (No. 573; see Panofka, Argos Panoptes, plate 5), Argus is seen, seated on the ground, a fero- cious figure with long hair and beard, and a huge eye in his shaggy breast; he holds in his hand a long cord, attached to the horns of a cow. Near by stands Hermes, grasping the cord near the horns with his left hand, and about to draw his sword with his right. Argus's dog
stands at bay in front of his master. Through the influence of this trag- edy, Io came later to be depicted in art as a maiden with horns. So, for instance, on a
red-figured vase of the Berlin Museum (Panofka, l.c., plate 3). The stinging gadfly' of the legend (cp. Suppl. 306
BΑ.
τί
οὖν
ἔτευξεν
ἄλλο
δυσπότμῳ
βοΐ;
ΧΟ.
βοη-
λάτην
μύωπα
κινητήριον, Verg. Georg. iii. 147 cui nomen asilo Ro- manum est, oestrum Graii vertere vocantes), which is mentioned in Io's narrative, 675 be- low, had also to be omitted in the scenic representation. The difficulty was met by a figurative conception of
οἶστρος; the maddening sting was interpreted as the reminiscence of the crafty eye of Argos (567). — On account of the unusual manner of Io's entrance and exit, the anapaests which commonly accompany the ar- rival and departure of a personage are here and at 877 given to the actor, not to the chorus. So above, at the entrance of the chorus (120 ff.).
688.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-442
688.
ηὔχουν: cp. 338, and Ag. 506
οὐ
γάρ
ποτ'
ηὔχουν
τῇδ᾽
ἐν
᾿Αργείᾳ
χθονὶ
θανὼν
μεθέξειν
φιλτάτου
τάφου
μέρος, Suppl. 329
τίς
ηὔχει
τήνδ᾽
ἀνέλπιστον
φυγὴν
κέλσειν
ἐς
῎Apyos, Eur. Hel. 1619
οὐκ
ἄν
ποτ'
ηὔχουν
οὔτε
σ᾽
οὔθ᾽
ἡμᾶς
λαθεῖν
Μενέλαον, Heracl. 931
οὐ
γάρ
ποτ'
ηὔχει
χεῖρας
ἵξεσθαι
σέθεν.
691.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-443
691 f.
πήματα,
λύματα,
δείματα: the assonance is intentional, as is the alliteration in
ψύχειν
ψυχάν. Cp. 480, 959; Eur. Or. 1302
φονεύετε,
καίνετε,
ὄλλυτε. –
ἀμφάκει
κέντρῳ: cp. Ад. 642
διπλῇ
μάστιγι
τὴν
῎Αρης
φιλεῖ. The goad (see on 323) had two
κέντρα. Cp. Soph. O.
Τ. 809
διπλοῖς
κέντροισι, Frg. 137
μάσθλητα
δίγονον. —
ψύχειν : chill. So
τέφρικα below. Cp. Plaut. Pseud. 1215
mihi..ille...cor
perfrigefacit. For the idea cp. Eum. 155
ἐμοὶ
δ᾽
ὄνειδος
ἐξ
ὀνειράτων
μολὸν
ἔτυψεν
δίκαν
διφρηλάτου
μεσολαβεῖ
κέντρῳ
ὑπὸ
φρένας,
ὑπὸ
λοβόν.
πάρεστι
μαστίκτορος
δαμίου
βαρὺ
τὸ
περίβαρυ
κρύος
ἔχειν. — The pres- ent
ψύχειν, after the future
μολεῖσθαι, because the mind of the speaker reverts to the present moment.
695.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-444
695.
πρᾶξιν: plight,
τὸ
πεπραγέναι. Cp. Soph. Trach. 151
τὴν
αὑτοῦ
σκοπῶν
πρᾶξιν, 293
ἀνδρὸς
εὐτυχῆ
κλύουσα
πρᾶ-
ξιν
τήνδε,
Αί. 790
ἥκει
φέρων
Αἴαντος
ἡμῖν
πρᾶξιν
ἣν
ἤλγησ᾽
ἐγώ.
