561-886.
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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.).
845.
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845.
τῶν
πάλαι
λόγων: the refer- ence is to 815.
πάλαι of the recent past, as Ag. 587
ἀνωλόλυξα
μὲν
πάλαι
χαρᾶς
ὕπο,
ὅτ᾽
ἦλθ᾽
ὁ
πρῶτος
νύχιος
ἄγγελος
πυρός.
846.
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846.
ἔστιν
πόλις
Κάνωβος : the narrative begins, in epic fashion, with a description of the locality. Cp. Od. iii. 293
ἔστι
δέ
τις
λισσὴ
αἰπεῖά
τε
εἰς
ἅλα
πέτρη, Il. ii. 811
ἔστι
δέ
τις
προπά-
ροιθε
πόλιος
αἰπεῖα
κολώνη (in Latin poets est locus), Soph. Trach. 237
ἀκτή
τις
ἔστ᾽
Εὐβοιίς, 752
ἀκτή
τις
ἀμφί-
κλυστος
ἔστιν, Ant. 966
παρὰ
δὲ
κυανέων
σπιλάδων
ἀκταὶ
Βοσπόριαι
ἰδ᾽
ὁ
Θρῃκῶν
Σαλμυδησσὸς
ἵνα
κτέ., Eur. Hipp. 1199
ἀκτή
τις
ἔστι
τοὐπέκεινα
τῆσδε
γῆς, Iph.
Τ. 262
ἦν
τις
διαρρὼξ
κυμάτων
πολλῷ
σάλῳ
κοιλωπὸς
ἀγμός, 1450
χῶ-
ρός
τις
ἔστιν
᾿Ατθίδος
πρὸς
ἐσχάτοις
ὅροισι, also Aesch. Pers. 447. —
χθονός: of its region. Cp. Suppl. 717
οἴακος
ἰθυντῆρος
ὑστάτου
νεώς. For the story cp. Suppl. 311
καὶ
μὴν
Κάνωβον
κἀπὶ
Μέμφιν
ἵκετο (sc.
Ιώ).
847.
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847.
προσχώματι:
τῷ
ὑπὸ
τοῦ
πο-
ταμοῦ
ἐτησίῳ
προσθήματι
τοῦ
χώματος, Schol. Cp. Solon Frg. 28
Νείλου
ἐπὶ
προχοῇσι
Κανωβίδος
ἐγγύθεν
ἀκτῆς.
848.
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848.
τίθησιν : to Prometheus's pro- phetic vision the future is like the present. See on 109 and 211. -
ἔμ-
φρονα: Aeschylus has changed the story. The prevailing account (see on 561) was, according to the scholi- ast on Eur. Phoen. 678,
ὁ
Ζεὺς
ἐπαφη-
σάμενος·
τῆς
Ἰοῦς
πάλιν
εἰς
γυναῖκα
μετεμόρφωσε. Cp. Ovid Met. i. 738 vultus capit illa priores, fitque quod ante fuit.
849.
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849.
ἐπαφῶν: the word is chosen with reference to the name
Ἔπαφος and its supposed etymology. Cp. Suppl. 46
ἐπωνυμίᾳ
δ᾽
ἐπεκραίνετο
μόρ-
σιμος
αἰὼν
εὐλόγως,
Ἔπαφόν
τ᾽
ἐγέννα-
σεν. The ease and painlessness of the transformation, expressed by
ἐπα-
φῶν
ἀταρβεῖ
χειρί, is further empha- sized by
καὶ
θιγὼν
μόνον. Cp. Suppl. !
576
δίῳ
δ᾽
ἀπημάντῳ
σθένει
καὶ
θείαις
ἐπιπνοίαις
παύεται, 1065
Ἰὼ
πημονᾶς
ἐλύσατ᾽
εὖ
χειρὶ
παιωνίᾳ
κατασχεθών,
εὐμενεῖ
βίᾳ
κτίσας, 45
ἐξ
ἐπιπνοίας
Ζηνὸς
ἔφαψιν.
850.
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850. Prometheus, in saying
τῶν
Διὸς
γεννημάτων instead of
τῆς
Διὸς
ἐπαφῆς, hints at what is expressly stated Suppl. 312
καὶ
Ζεύς
γ᾽
ἐφάπτωρ
χειρὶ
φιτύει
γόνον.
Το this 834 above also alludes. -
ἐπώνυμον
τῶν
Διὸς
γεννημάτων: means "called after the manner of his begetting" (by
ἐπαφή). Similarly Suppl. 314
"Επαφος
ἀληθῶς
ῥυσίων
ἐπώνυμος, where
ῥύσια = “ re- storation by
ἐπαφή.”
851.
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851.
τέξεις: the same form 869, the middle form 768.
852.
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852.
πλατύρρους: cp. Frg. 304
ἔνθα
Νεῖλος
ἑπτάρους. The uncon- tracted -poos appears in Frg. 280
πλεκτάνην
χειμάρροον. ...
853.
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854.
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854.
οὐχ
ἑκοῦσα: explained by
φεύγουσα
ἀνεψιῶν below. –
ἐλεύ-
σεται:
ἐλεύσομαι recurs Suppl. 522. Elsewhere the Attic poets use only
εἶμι.
