1-127.
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1-127: Prologue
(πρόλογος).
1-87.
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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.
1.
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1.
χθονὸς
πέδον : poetical periphra- sis for
χθόνα. Cp. Suppl. 260
χώρας
᾿Απίας
πέδον, 662
πέδον
γᾶς, Pers. 488
γῆς
᾿Αχαιίδος
πέδον. In such expres- sions, the adjective does not agree with the genitive, but with the sub- stantive which makes the periphrasis, because this substantive forms one idea with the genitive. See below, 91, 110, 823; also Sept. 304
ποῖον
δ᾽
ἀμείψεσθε
γαίας
πέδον,
Εum. 292
χώ-
ρας
ἐν
τόποις
Λιβυστικοῖς, 326
ματρῷον
ἅγνισμα
κύριον
φόνου, 718
πρωτοκτό-
νοισι
προστροπαῖς
᾿Ιξίονος. –
μέν : an- swered by
σοὶ
δέ in 3; the first part of the task (bringing Prometheus to the spot) is contrasted with the sec- ond part (nailing him to the rock). "We have done our duty, and here we are
(ἥκομεν), now you must do yours." -
τηλουρόν: this accent is expressly attested by the gramma- rian Arcadius
περὶ
τόνων, p. 73, 6.
τηλουρός is formed from
τηλοῦ as
πο-
νηρός from
πόνος. Others derive the word from
τῆλε and
ὅρος
(οὗρος) boun- dary, so that it means cuius ter- mini procul sunt; or from
τῆλε and
oὗρον space (cp. Curtius Etym.5 p. 346); but these derivations would require the accent
τήλουρος.
2.
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2.
Σκύθην: here used adjectively, as in 417. So Sept. 817
Σκύθῃ
σιδήρῳ, Eur. Rhes. 426
Σκύθης
λέως, Martial iv. 28, 4 Scythas zmaragdos. Cp. also 805; Ag. 109
Ἑλλάδος
ἥβας, Prom. Solut. Frg.
Χ. 9 below
Λίγυν
στρα-
τόν, Frg. 322
Κουρῆτα
λαόν. See also note on 761 below. -
οἶμον : originally road, then strip, tract; cp. Il. xi. 24
τοῦ
δ᾽ (sc.
θώρηκος)
ἤτοι
δέκα
οἶμοι
ἔσαν
μέλανος
κυάνοιο, ten stripes of blue steel. –
ἄβροτον:
ἀπάνθρωπον, Hesych. Hermann, following Buttmann Lexil. I.
p. 136, thinks this use of
ἄβροτος a blunder, due to a misinterpretation of the Homeric
νὺξ
ἀβρότη
(Il. xiv. 78), which was wrongly explained by some of the ancients as the time "when mortals are not abroad,"
καθ'
ἣν
βροτοὶ
οὐ
φοιτῶσιν, whereas it is really an equivalent of
νὺξ
ἄμβροτος (Od. xi. 330),
νὺξ
ἀμβροσίη. But this is not necessary.
As
ἄνανδρος means both unmanly and destitute of men,
ἀπάνθρωπος both inhuman and deserted of mankind, so
ἄβροτος means immortal and void of mortals. - Similar resolu-
tions in the third foot occur eight times in this play. The tribrach in the first foot always consists of a sin- gle word (see on 116); but in the second and fifth, and still more in the third and fourth feet, the first short of the tribrach is usually the final syllable of a word, or a monosyllabic particle closely connected with the preceding word
(τέ 351,
γέ 746,
δέ 993). In the third foot, the caesura thus made is followed, in six of the examples, by a word consisting of three short syllables; in the other two cases a proper name of four syllables follows
(Κιλικίων 351,
Ιόνιος 840). The repetition of the prep- osition gives to
Σκύθην
οἶμον and
ἄβρο-
τον
ἐρημίαν, which otherwise would be close appositives, more the air of two separate statements. See Krüg. I. § 57, 10, 4. - The scholiast remarks on this verse:
τοῦτο
εἰς
τὸ
ἀπαραμύθη-
τον
τοῦ
δεθησομένου·
καὶ
Σοφοκλῆς
τὸ
αὐτὸ
περὶ
Φιλοκτήτου
λέγει. Cp. Intro- duction, p. 25, footnote 2, and verses 20, 270; also Ar. Ach. 704,
ξυμπλα-
κέντα
τῇ
Σκυθῶν
ἐρημίᾳ.
3.
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3.
Ήφαιστε,
σοὶ
δέ: for
σοὶ
δέ,
"Ηφαιστε. The vocative is often placed first in this way, to attract more promptly the attention of the person addressed. Cp. Od. xvi. 130
ἄττα,
σὺ
δ᾽
ἔρχεο
θᾶσσον,
Ιl. i. 282
᾿Ατρείδη,
σὺ
δὲ
παῦε
τεὸν
μένος,
vi. 429
Ἕκτορ,
ἀτὰρ
σύ
μοί
ἐσσι
πατήρ. Frequent in Sophocles: cp. Ai. 1409,
Εl. 150,
Ο.
Τ. 203, 1096, 1503, О. С. 237, 332, 507, 592, Ant. 1087, Phil. 799. Also [Plato] Theages 127 c &
Σώκρατες,
πρὸς
σὲ
δ᾽
ἂν
ἤδη
εἴη
ὁ
μετὰ
τοῦτο
λόγος. --
μέλειν : personal;
ἐπιστολάς is its subject. See Krüg. I. § 47, 11, 5 and II. § 47, 11, 2. –
ἐπιστολάς : =
ἐν-
τολάς, commands. Cp. Suppl. 1012
φυλάξαι
τάσδ'
ἐπιστολὰς
πατρός, Pers. 783
κού
μνημονεύει
τὰς
ἐμὰς
ἐπιστολάς, Frg. 423
ἄκουε
τὰς
ἐμὰς
ἐπιστολάς.
4.
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4.
πατήρ: is said of Zeus not only by the menials, 40 and 53, and by Hermes, 947, 984, but even by He- phaestus, 17.
5.
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5.
λεωργόν :
κακοῦργον,
πανοῦργον,
ἀνδροφόνον, Hesych. Of these, the interpretation
πανούργος agrees ex- actly with the derivation of the word from
λέως, an adverb which the an- cient lexicographers explain by
re-
λέως,
παντελῶς,
ἅπαν. Cp. Archil. Frg. 112 Bergk
λείως
γὰρ
οὐδὲν
ἐφρό-
νεον =
πάντως
γὰρ
οὐδὲν
ἐφρόνεον, and the words
λεώλης,
λεώλεθρος =
πανώλης,
πανώλεθρος. Accordingly
λεωργός sig- nifies one who acts recklessly, in dis- tinction from one whose conduct is regulated by principle. Cp. Archil. Frg. 88
πάτερ
Ζεῦ,
σὸν
μὲν
οὐρανοῦ
κράτος,
σὺ
δ᾽
ἔργ᾽
ἐπ᾿
ἀνθρώπων
ὁρᾷς
λεωργὰ
καὶ
θεμιστά, Xen. Mem. i. 3. 9
αὐτὸν
θερμουργότατον
εἶναι
καὶ
λεωρ-
γότατον. Hesychius gives also the form
λαοργός (with the interpreta- tion
ἀνόσιος·
Σικελοί). The adverb
λέως is related to the intensive prefix
λᾶ-
(λάμαχος,
λακαταπύγων,
λακατάρα-
τος) as
λεώς is to
λαός,
νεώς
τo
ναός.
6.
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6.
ἀδαμαντίνων:
ἀδάμας·
γένος
σιδή-
ρου, Hesych. Cp. 64; also Pind. Pyth.
ⅳν. 125
κρατεροῖς
ἀδάμαντος
δῆσεν
ἅλοις, with iron nails, Pind. Frg. 88
ἐξ
ἀδάμαν-
τος
ἢ
σιδάρου. The meaning diamond is not found before Theophrastus (Pindar, de adamante; Comm. Antiqu. p. 19). –
ἀρρήκτοις
πέδαις : cp. Il. xiii. 36
ἀμφὶ
δὲ
ποσσὶ
πέδας
ἔβαλε
χρυσείας
ἀρρήκτους
ἀλύτους, 19 below
δυσλύ-
τοις
χαλκεύμασι.
πέδαι are fetters,
δεσμά bonds, a more general term. The reverse combination in Eur. Bacch. 447
δεσμὰ
διελύθη
πεδῶν. Cp. Ag. 850
πῆμα
νόσου, Pers. 543
λέκ-
τρων
εὐνάς. - Aeschylus admits an anapaest only in the first foot of the trimeter. The one exception is Sept. 569, where the proper name could hardly have been otherwise brought into the verse. (In 840 below there is no anapaest; see note.) This ana- paest, like the tribrach and dactyl in the same place (see on 2 and 730), is never divided between two words: it generally consists of a trisyllabic word, but sometimes of the beginning of a longer word, as here and 64, 353, 796, 805, 811. There are thirteen such anapaests in the Prometheus.
7.
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7.
τὸ
σὸν
ἄνθος:
τὸν
σὸν
κόσμον, Schol. In Theognis 452, the 'clear lustre' of gold is called its
καθαρὸν
ἄνθος. –
παντέχνου
πυρός : cp. 110, and Xen. Mem. iv. 3. 7
τὸ
δὲ
καὶ
τὸ
πῦρ
πορίσαι
ἡμῖν,
ἐπίκουρον
μὲν
ψύχους,
ἐπίκουρον
δὲ
σκότους,
συνεργὸν
δὲ
πρὸς
πᾶσαν
τέχνην
καὶ
πάντα
ὅσα
ὠφελείας
ἕνεκα
ἄνθρωποι
κατασκευάζονται, Plat. Protag. 321
cὁ
Προμηθεὺς ...
κλέπτει
Ηφαίστου
καὶ
᾿Αθηνᾶς
τὴν
ἔντεχνον
σοφίαν
σὺν
πυρί. -
πυρὸς
σέλας: said by Homer Il. xix. 375. Cp. Hesiod Theog. 566
κλέψας
ἀκαμάτοιο
πυρὸς
τηλέσκοπον
αὐγήν.
9.
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9.
σφέ: =
αὐτόν, as Sept. 615, Soph.
Αί. 51, O. C. 40, Trach. 234, Eur. Ion 54, 71, and often. The tragedians use
σφέ for the accusative singular as well as plural, whereas in Homer it occurs only as plural. Krüg. II. § 51, 1, 14.
10.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-11
10.
ἄν: in final clauses after
ὡς and
ὅπως, very common in Attic; cp. 654, 706, 824. Aristophanes always uses
ὡς
ἄν, and in Attic inscriptions
ὅπως
ἄν is frequent.
11.
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11.
φιλανθρώπου
κτἑ. : that is, "turn his affections away from men to a worthier object."
13.
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13.
ἔχει
τέλος : =
τετέλεσται.
Εp. Soph. O. C. 1780
πάντως
ἔχει
τάδε
κῦρος (=
κεκύρωται). —
οὐδὲν
ἐμποδών : nihil vos detinet.
14.
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14.
συγγενή: the scholiast explains,
τὸν
ἀπὸ
μιᾶς
ὁρμώμενον
τέχνης, that is, "my
fellow-craftsman." Rather we must understand the word of
blood-relationship; cp. 39, 289. He- phaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera (Il. i. 577 ff.), or according to Hesiod Th. 927, the fatherless son of Hera; Prometheus is the son of Themis. Now Themis is the daughter of Ura- nus, and Hera his
grand-daughter.
17.
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17.
εὐωριάζειν:
ὀλιγωρεῖν,
μὴ
ἔχειν
φροντίδα,
παρακούειν, Hesych. One who is confident and unconcerned
(εὔωρος, securus) in
executing_a duty, is apt to take less pains. Cp. our colloquial expression 'take it easy.'
18.
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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.
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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.
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33.
πολλοὺς
δ᾽
ὀδυρμούς:
προανα-
φωνεῖ
τὰς
μονῳδίας
αὐτοῦ, Schol.
35.
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35.
νέον: adverbial. See Krüger II. § 46, 6, 7. The same thought recurs 96, 149, 310, 389, 942, 955.
38.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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48. Cp. Eur. Iph.
Α. 86
τἀξίωμα
δὲ
ἄλλος
τις
ὤφελ᾽
ἀντ᾿
ἐμοῦ
λαβεῖν
τόδε.
49.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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57.
ματᾷ:
διατρίβει,
χρονίζει,
He- sych.
59.
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59. Cp. Ar.
Εq. 758
ποικίλος
γὰρ
ἁνὴρ
κἀκ
τῶν
ἀμηχάνων
πόρους
εὐμή-
χανος
πορίζειν.
61.
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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.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-49
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.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-53
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.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-62
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.
96.
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96.
ταγός: cp. Pers. 23
ταγοὶ
Περ-
σῶν, 323
νεῶν
ταγός, Soph. Ant. 1057
ἆρ'
οἶσθα
ταγοὺς (lords and masters)
ὄντας
ἂν
λέγῃς
λέγων;
97.
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97. The anapaestic monometer forms a close, but a less emphatic one than the
paroemiac.-δεσμόν : the singular as in 141. We have
δεσμούς
ἀεικεῖς 525. –
ἀεική: see on 113.
99.
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99.
στενάχω,
πῇ: as it were I groan to think how, etc. Cp. 182; Soph. Ai. 794
ὥστε
μ'
ὠδίνειν
τί
φής, Eur. Hec. 184
δειμαίνω
τί
ποτ᾿
ἀναστένεις, Ar. Nub. 1391
οἶμαί
γε
τῶν
νεωτέρων
τὰς
καρδίας
πηδᾶν
ὅ
τι
λέξει. -
πῇ
πότε: cp. 545; Eur. Alc. 213
ἰὼ
Ζεῦ,
τίς
ἂν
πῶς
πᾶ
πόρος
κακῶν
γένοιτο ; Krüger I. § 51, 17, 10; H. 1013.
100.
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100.
χρή: nearly =
μέλλει. –
ἐπι-
τεῖλαι:
ἐπιτέλλεσθαι of the rising of heavenly bodies, Hom. Hymn iii. 371
ἠελίοιο
νέον
ἐπιτελλομένοιο, Hesiod
Ο. D. 567
πρῶτον
παμφαίνων
ἐπιτέλλε-
ται. The active in the
'Iλιὰς
μικρά (Tzetzes on Lycophr. 344)
λαμπρή
δ᾽
ἐπέτελλε
σελήνη. In a figurative sense, Theogn. 1275
ὡραῖος
καὶ
ἔρως
ἐπιτέλλεται
ἡνίκα
περ
γῆ
ἄνθεσιν
εἰαρι-
νοῖς
θάλλει
ἀεξομένη.
101.
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101.
καίτοι
τί
φημι: 'se ipsum obiurgat Prometheus; et paulisper ob malorum magnitudinem naturae suae oblitus iam ad se redit' (Schütz).
θνητοῖς
γὰρ
γέρα –
προυξεπίσταμαι : as son of Themis. Ср. 209, 873.
102.
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102.
ποταίνιον: predicative; shall not come unexpected.
105.
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105.
ἀδήριτον: Il. xvii. 41
ἀλλ᾽
οὐ
μὰν
ἔτι
δηρὸν
ἀπείρητος
πόνος
ἔσται
λong
οὐδέ
τ᾽
ἀδήριτος. Here =
ἄμαχος
(ἀδή-
ριτον·
ἄμαχον,
ἀκατάμαχον, Hesych.). Cp.
ἀνίκητος,
ίnvictus. For the thought cp. Simon. Frg.
5,21 (Plat.
Prot.
345d)
ἀνάγκᾳ
δ᾽
οὐδὲ
θεοὶ
μάχονται, Soph. Ant. 1106
ἀνάγκῃ
δ᾽
οὐχὶ
δυσμαχητέον,
Ο.
C. 191
καὶ
μὴ
χρείᾳ
πολεμῶμεν, Eur. Iph.
Τ. 1486
τὸ
γὰρ
χρεὼν
σοῦ
τε
καὶ
θεῶν
κρατεῖ.
106.
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106.
οὔτε
σιγᾶν
οὔτε
μὴ
σιγᾶν : ex- plained by 197, whence we see that the motive for silence is the pain of speaking (not caution as in Ag. 548,
πάλαι
τὸ
σιγᾶν
φάρμακον
βλάβης
ἔχω). The scholiast wrongly explains,
ἀλλ᾽
οὔτε
σιγᾶν
δύναμαι
(ἀλγῶ
γὰρ)
οὔτε
ἐλέγ-
χειν·
εὐλαβοῦμαι
γὰρ
τὸν
Δία. Cp.Soph. Phil. 329
ὦ
παῖ
Ποίαντος,
ἐξερῶ,
μόλις
δ᾽
ἐρῶ,
ἅγωγ᾽
ὑπ᾿
αὐτῶν
ἐξελωβήθην
μολών.
107.
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107.
γέρα: see on
τιμάς, 30. — Here and in 821 we find the thesis of the fifth foot formed by the long final syllable of a word of more than one
syllable
(θνη-τοῖς). This is very rare in tragedy (H.
1091,5). It is excusa- ble when, as here, a distinct pause, in connexion with the caesura of the fourth foot (hephthemimeris), imme- diately precedes. See also on 648. ...
108.
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108.
ἀνάγκαις : said like
αἰκίαι 93. –
ἐνέζευγμαι : a favorite metaphor of Aeschylus. Cp. 578, 1009; Ag. 1639
τὸν
δὲ
μὴ
πειθάνορα
ζεύξω
βαρείαις (sc.
ζεύγλαις), 841
μόνος
δ᾽
Ὀδυσσεὺς
ζευχθεὶς
ἕτοιμος
ἦν
ἐμοὶ
σειραφόρος, Cho. 795
ζυγέντ᾽
ἐν
ἅρμασιν
πημάτων, also Ag. 218
ἀνάγκας
ἔδυ
λέπαδνον. Figures and comparisons drawn from husbandry and rural life are frequent in the tra- gedians. With our passage cp. Eur.
Οr. 1330
ἀνάγκης
εἰς
ζυγὸν
καθέσταμεν, Hipp. 1389
οἵαις
συμφοραῖς
συνεζύγης.
109.
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109.
ναρθηκοπλήρωτον:
τὴν
ἐν
νάρ-
θηκι
θησαυρισθεῖσαν,
παρόσον
τῷ
νάρθηκι
ἐχρῶντο
πρὸς
τὰς
ἐκζωπυρώσεις
τοῦ
πυρός, Hesych. The
νάρθηξ (ferula communis, in modern Greek
ἀνάρθη- kas) is an umbelliferous
reed-like plant, about four feet high; its stalk is filled with an acrid milky juice (habent fungosam intus me- dullam ut sambuci: Plin.). When dried it readily catches and preserves a spark of fire; the peas- ants of southern Italy use it as tinder. Cp. Phanias, Anthol. vi. 294
νάρθηξ
πυρικοίτας, also Theophr. Hist. Pl. vi. 2, 7, Plin. H. N. xiii. 22. 42. On the mythical significance of the narthex, see Introduction, p. 2. - This clause is properly explanatory of what goes before, nevertheless it is introduced by de as if it were a new and distinct statement. The scholiasts often ren- der this dé by
yap; an example is Cho. 239
προσαυδᾶν
δ᾽
ἔστ᾽
ἀναγκαίως
ἔχον, which is explanatory of the foregoing words
τέσσαρας
μοίρας
ἔχον
ἐμοί. –
θηρῶμαι: historical present. Krüger I. § 53, 1, 11; GMT. 33.
110.
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110 f.
διδάσκαλος
τέχνης
πάσης : see on 7. -
πόρος : absolute, as in 477.
112.
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112.
τοιώνδε
ποινὰς
ἀμπλακημάτων: ср. 564, 620.
113.
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113.
ὑπαιθρίοις: explains
προυσε-
λούμενος; the insult of the punish- ment consists in its publicity, See also 158. Prometheus lays stress on the ignominious nature of his punish- ment, 97, 177, 195, 227, 256, 438, 525. For the connexion of
ὑπαιθρίοις and
δεσμοῖσι, see on
ἀφεγγής 115. –
πρου-
σελούμενος: this word recurs 438; it is found elsewhere only in Ar. Ran. 730
(προυσελοῦμεν). Cp. Etym. Mag. p. 690, 11
προυσελεῖν
λέγουσι
τὸ
ὑβρί-
ζειν. It is therefore equivalent to
αἰκίζομαι, the word employed in most of the similar passages of this play (cp. Hesych.
προυγελεῖν·
προπηλακί-
ζειν,
ὑβρίζειν). The etymology of the word is unknown: it has been proposed to derive it from
προσεέλ-
λειν, on the supposition that the digamma, falling out after o, has lengthened the preceding syllable, as in
θεουδής
(θεοδρής).
114-127 announce the approach of the chorus and accompany (from 120 on) the movements of the winged chariot. Similarly in the Electra of Sophocles anapaests of Electra ac- company the entrance of the chorus.
114.
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114. A rush or whir is heard in the air. -ad:
ἐκπλήξεως
ἐπιρρήματα, Schol. Ce mélange de douleur et d'effroi, de faiblesse et de fermeté me paraît tout à fait admirable' (Patin).
115.
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115. The bacchic rhythms express surprise and amazement.
·ὀδμά: an odor of the sea is supposed to pre- cede the nymphs, in whose costume seaweed, shells, etc., may well have been prominent. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1391
ἔα·
ὦ
θεῖον
ὀδμῆς
πνεῦμα·...
ἔστ᾽
ἐν
τόποισι
τοισίδ᾽
῎Αρτεμις
θεά, Verg. Aen. i. 403 ambrosiaeque comae di- vinum vertice odorem spira- vere. -
προσέπτα: cp. Plaut. Amphitr. 325 vox mi ad auris advo- lavit. The verb, in a somewhat different sense, is joined with the da- tive in 555 and 644. –
ἀφεγγής: (here nearly =
ἀφανής) is, by a figure com- mon in the poets, connected with
ἀχώ and
ὀδμά, whereas it is properly an epithet of the object from which they emanate. - For the situation cp. Soph. Phil. 203
προυφάνη
κτύπος
βάλλει
μ᾽
ἐτύμα
φθογγά
του.
116.
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116.
θεόσυτος: the tribrach in the first foot generally, in Aeschylus, con- sists of a single word of three sylla- bles, as in 666. Here and 817 it is the first part of a longer word: the remaining cases of this are Sept. 272
πεδιονόμοις,
Eum. 806
λιπαροθρόνοισιν, Frg. 195, 2
βορεάδας. - Compounds in
-συτος and in -puros either double the medial o or p, or do not double it, according to the requirements of the verse: cp. 643. With
θεόσυτος
ή
βρότειος cp. 765. –
κεκραμένη :
ἡμιθέων, Schol. Demigods according to the later conception are not meant, but beings who, like the Oceanids, stand midway between the higher (celestial) gods and the human race: cp. 529 f., 902. For the expression cp. Eur. Cycl. 218
μήλειον
ἢ
βόειον
ἢ
μεμιγμένον ;
117.
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117. The rhythm (dochmius and cretic) indicates painful emotion. The question "Who can it be" (115, 116) is followed by the conjecture that the person in question comes as an unwel- come spectator of his sufferings. The reason of this conjecture is suggested by the opening words,
ἵκετο
τερμόνιον
ἐπὶ
πάγον (“a cliff at the end of the world"). –
ἵκετο : is he come; the sub- ject is the unknown newcomer; not
θεωρός, which expresses the motive of the coming. -
τερμόνιον: this adjective occurs only here: it is formed from
τέρμων, while
τέρμιος is from
τέρμα.
118.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-93
118.
ἢ
τί
δὴ
θέλων : cp. Soph. Trach. 390
ἡμεῖς
δὲ
προσμένωμεν;
ἢ
τί
χρὴ
ποιεῖν;
119.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-94
119.
ετάρο: said with reference to
<ε
θεωρός. The imperative has the sense of
ὁρᾶν
πάρα.
120.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-95
120 f. The iambi again give place to anapaests; see on 93. The speaker is outraged at the thought of becom- ing a spectacle for others; cp. 156. -
πᾶσι
θεοῖς
δι᾽
ἀπεχθείας
ἐλθόντα: cp. Eur. Hipp. 1164
δι᾽
ἔχθρας
μῶν
τις
ἦν
ἀφιγμένος, Phoen. 479
καὶ
μὴ
δι᾽
ἔχθρας
τῷδε
καὶ
φόνου
μολών,
Η. F. 220
Μι-
νύαισι
πᾶσι
διὰ
μάχης
μολών, Iph.
Α. 1392 similarly, Androm. 416
πατρὶ
τῷ
σῷ
διὰ
φιλημάτων
ἰών, Soph. Ant. 742
διὰ
δίκης
ἰὼν
πατρί, Ar. Ran. 1412
οὐ
γὰρ
δι᾽
ἔχθρας
οὐδετέρῳ
γενήσομαι, [Plato] Theag. 130 b
μοι
δι᾽
ἀπεχθείας
ἐν
λόγοις
τισὶν
ἐγεγόνει. These com- binations of a verb of motion with
διά arose from the local meaning of the preposition. Krüger I. § 68, 22, 2.
122.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-96
122.
αὐλήν: cp. Od. iv. 74
Ζηνός
που
τοιήδε
γ᾽
Ὀλυμπίου
ἔνδοθεν
αὐλή.
εἰσοιχνεῦσιν : Ionic contraction, like
πωλεύμεναι 645; used because
οἰχνέω and
πωλέομαι are epic words. Cp. Eur. Med. 422
ὑμνεῦσαι, Hipp. 167
ἀΰτευν,
Ιph.
Α. 789
μυθεῦσαι. Cp. also Ag. 942
δήριος (from the Ionic
δῆρις).
124.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-97
124 ff.
κινάθισμα:
κίνημα
πλήθους, Hesych. –
οἰωνῶν : the chorus is now so near that Prometheus can distin- guish the sound of wings. -
ἐλαφραῖς
πτερύγων
ῥιπαῖς:
cp. Eur. Frg. 597
ταῖς
ὠκυπλάνοις
πτερύγων
ῥιπαῖς. –
ὑπο-
συρίζει: this does not mean leniter stridet (Blomfield), but
ὑπο- ex- presses the idea of accompaniment, as in
ὑπάδειν,
ὑποστεναχίζειν,
ὑπορχεῖ-
σθαι,
ὑπηχεῖν, succinere.
