128-192.
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128-192. Parodos. It is com- matic, that is, divided between actor and chorus. The chorus enter in a winged car
(ὄχῳ
πτερωτῷ 135,
κραι-
πνόσυτον
θᾶκον 279), moved by the- atrical machinery. The car, advancing from the right side, has gradually approached Prometheus. It is seen by the spectators while still invisible to Prometheus, who can only look straight before him. At 124 the chorus are already very near, and they hear the words of 127
(φοβερόν). - The
᾿Ωκεανίδες are daughters of Oceanus and Tethys; see Hesiod Theog. 362. Hesiod (ibid. 346) enum- erates
forty-one by name, and adds
πολλαί
γε
μέν
εἶσι
καὶ
ἄλλαι,
τρὶς
γὰρ
χίλιαί
εἰσι
τανύσφυροι
Ωκεανῖναι. Aes- chylus's chorus consisted of twelve persons. The first strophe gives the motive of the chorus for coming; this is what an unknown grammarian (in the hypothesis to the Persians) calls '
παροδικά,
ὅτε
λέγει (sc.
ὁ
χορός)
δι᾽
ἣν
αἰτίαν
πάρεστιν.' - The rhythms (
ῥυθμὸς
᾿Ανακρεόντειός
ἐστι
κεκλασμένος
πρὸς
τὸ
θρηνητικόν, Schol.) are in keeping with the sorrowful tone of the composition (see 144 ff.); they
are furthermore especially appropri- ate to a female chorus.
171.
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171.
ἀποσυλᾶται: the present is here used, without reference to time, to express simply the working out of a result. Cp. 764, 948.
172.
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172 ff.
οὔτε ...
τ᾿
οὔποτε: for
οὔτε ...
τε ср. 244, 260; and for
οὔτε ...
τ'
οὔ(ποτε) Soph. Ant. 763
ἔμοιγε ...
οὔθ᾽
ἥδ᾽
ὀλεῖται
πλησία
σύ
τ᾽
οὐδαμὰ
τοὐμὸν
προσόψει
κρᾶτα, Eur. Hipp. 302
οὔτε
γὰρ
τότε
λόγοις
ἐτέγγεθ᾽
ἥδε
νῦν
τ᾽
οὐ
πείθεται, Heracl. 605
οὔτε
τούτοις
ἥδομαι
πεπραγμένοις
χρησμοῦ
τε
μὴ
κρανθέντος
οὐ
βιώσιμον, Thuc. i. 126
οὔτ᾽
ἐκεῖνος
ἔτι
κατενόησε
τό
τε
μαν-
τεῖον
οὐκ
ἐδήλου.
Βy
οὔτε .. persuasion and force are contrasted. The change from
οὔτε to
τ᾽
οὔποτε accompanies the change in structure from
θέλξει
τo
πτήξας
κατμηνύσω.
Ε...
Τε Similarly in the example
from Soph. (Ant. 763) quoted above. -
μελιγλώσ
σοις: recalls Il. i. 249
τοῦ
καὶ
ἀπὸ
γλώσσης
μέλιτος
γλυκίων
ῥέεν
αὐδή. Cp. Eur. Frg. 891
εἴ
μοι
τὸ
Νεστόρειον
εὔγλωσσον
στόμα ...
δοίη
θεός. - The caesura after the second foot of the anapaestic tetrapody
(μελι-γλώσσοις) is not observed with absolute strict- ness before Euripides.
176.
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176.
χαλάσῃ: sc.
με. Here tran- sitive, but intransitive in 58 and 179. Cp.
λωφᾶν 27.
180.
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180.
ἐλευθεροστομεῖς : cp.
λαβρο-
στομεῖν 327,
θρασυστομεῖν Suppl. 203,
χαριτογλωσσεῖν 294 below.
181.
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181.
ἐρέθισε: see on 135. The tri- brach in the third foot here consists of three syllables which belong in one word; this is admissible only in the melic trimeter. See on 162 and on 2. The aorist as in
ἐγέλασα,
ἥσθην,
ἀπέπτυσα (1070 below). Krüger I, § 53, 6, 3; GMT. 60;
Н. 842,
182.
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182 f.
δέδια ...
πᾶ
πότε: see on
184.
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184. At 100 above, the figure is that of daybreak after darkness; here of reaching land after a stormy and perilous voyage. -
ἀκίχητα: an epic word. Cp. Il. xvii. 75
ἀκίχητα
διώκων.
185.
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185.
ἀπαράμυθον : with long a- priv- ative. So, in epic poetry,
ἀθάνατος,
ἀκάματος, from the necessities of the metre.
ἀθάνατος kept this measure- ment throughout, even in Attic po- etry.
186-192.
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186-192. This fourth anapaestic system does not correspond in length to the third (167-177), as the sec- ond (152 ff.) does to the first (137 ff.). Perhaps this is because it forms the close. Cp. Soph. Ai. 257 ff. Possibly, however, some verses have been lost. Weil assumes a gap after
ῥαισθῇ.
186.
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186 f.
παρ'
ἑαυτῷ
τὸ
δίκαιον
ἔχων: cp. 403, 150; also Eur. Suppl. 429
οὐδὲν
τυράννου
δυσμενέστερον
πόλει,
ὅπου
τὸ
μὲν
πρώτιστον
οὐκ
εἰσὶν
νόμοι
κοινοί,
κρατεῖ
δ᾽
εἷς
τὸν
νόμον
κεκτημένος
195.
200
αὐτὸς
παρ᾽
αὑτῷ, Aesch. Suppl. 370
σύ
τοι
πόλις,
σὺ
δὲ
τὸ
δάμιον. For
δίκαιον see on 150.
187.
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187.
ὀίω : =
οἶμαι (758), opinor, I trow, I hope. Cp.
11. viii. 536
ἀλλ᾿
ἐν
πρώτοισιν,
οίω,
κείσεται
οὐτηθείς. Here with short
4, as in Homer in the middle of the hexameter, while at the end
ὀtw is used.
189.
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189.
ταύτῃ
ῥαισθῇ: said with ref- erence to 169 f. See on 170. Prome- theus speaks mysteriously and in a tone of secret exultation over some- thing not disclosed. With
ταύτῃ cp.
τῶνδε 247.
190.
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190.
ἀτέραμνον: cp. 1062.
ἀτέραμ- vos is an Homeric word. Cp. Od. xxiii. 167
κῆρ
ἀτέραμνον. Hesych. defines it,
τὸ
μὴ
ἐνδιδοῦν,
σκληρόν. Cp.
ὀργὰς
ἀτενεῖς
Αg. 71. -
στορέσας : meta- phorical; the figure is that of calm- ing the waves after a storm.
191.
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191.
εἰς
ἀρθμὸν
καὶ
φιλότητα: so Hom. Hymn iii. 524
κατένευσεν
ἐπ᾿
ἀρθμῷ
καὶ
φιλότητι.
Cp. Il.
vii.
302
ἐν
φιλότητι
διέτμαγεν
ἀρθμήσαντε.
193-396.
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193-396. First Episode. 193- 283. First Scene: Prometheus and the Coryphaeus. The scholiast says:
τὴν
ὑπόθεσιν (that is, the expo- sition of the events supposed to pre- cede the opening of the play)
βουλό-
μενος
διδάξαι,
τὸ
περίεργον (curiosity)
τοῦ
γυναικώδους
ήθους
προσέλαβεν (availed himself of, as a motive).
οὐκ
ἂν
γὰρ
ὁ
᾿Ὠκεανds (who enters later)
ἠξίωσεν
ἐρωτῆσαι
εἰδώς. The curiosity of the chorus is a natural conse- quence of their awakened sympathy. Still it is to be observed that Prome- theus on his part is moved to tell his story by the longing to unburden his heart to sympathizing friends (see 198). He needs only the request in order to comply at once. - The Pro- logue and this first scene of the first episode constitute the first act of the drama, which expounds the situation and prepares the way for the follow- ing dramatic development.
196.
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196.
εἴ
τι
μή: cp. Pers. 157
θεοῦ
δὲ
καὶ
μήτηρ
ἔφυς,
εἴ
τι
μὴ
δαίμων
παλαιὸς
νῦν
μεθέστηκε
στρατῷ, Suppl. 1016
εἰ
ahaad.
205
210-
γάρ
τι
μὴ
θεοῖς
βεβούλευται
νέον. Cp.
763.-It is noteworthy that all the speeches of the coryphaeus (which exceed a single verse) consist of four verses (see 242, 259, 472, 507, 631, 819, 1036) except 698 f. The same tendency in the speeches of other persons, 393, 511, 522, 589, 609.
197.
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197 f.
ἀλγεινὰ
μέν ...
ἄλγος
δέ: for the anaphora, cp. 238 and Pers. 27
φοβεροὶ
μὲν
ἰδεῖν,
δεινοὶ
δὲ
μάχην.
200.
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200.
ὠροθύνετο : an epic word,
201.
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201.
οἱ
μὲν
θέλοντες: absolute nominative, used as if
δαίμονες
ἐν
ἀλλήλοις
ἐστασίαζον had preceded. Cp. Soph. Ant. 259
λόγοι
δ᾽
ἐν
ἀλλή-
λοισιν
ἐρρόθουν
κακοί,
φύλαξ
ἐλέγχων
φύλακα, Eur. Phoen. 1462
ἦν
δ᾽
ἔρις
στρατηλάταις,
οἱ
μὲν
πατάξαι
πρόσθε
Πολυνείκην
δορί,
οἱ
δ᾽
ὡς
θανόντων
οὐδα-
μοῦ
νίκη
πέλοι, Bacch. 1131
ἦν
δὲ
πᾶσ᾽
ὁμοῦ
βοή,
ὁ
μὲν
στενάζων
κτἑ. Krüger I. § 56. 9, 4. See also on 569 below.
202.
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202.
δήθεν: scilicet; here with. out the usual tinge of irony (986), or notion of pretence. So Eur. Ion 831
Ιων,
ἰόντι
δῆθεν
ὅτι
συνήντετο.
203.
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203.
ὡς
Ζεὺς
μήποτ᾿
ἄρξειεν
θεῶν : said instead of "that Cronus might remain in power," because the per- sonality of Zeus is uppermost in the speaker's mind.
204.
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204.
τὰ
λῷστα
πιθεῖν
Τιτάνας: on the double accusative, see Krüger I. § 46, 11, 2. - The aorists
ἔπιθον and
ἐπιθύμην are very frequent in tragedy.
205.
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205. Cp. Hes. Theog. 644
Γαίης
τε
καὶ
Οὐρανοῦ
ἀγλαὰ
τέκνα.
208.
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208.
ἀμοχθί: the sense is, "in their pride of heart, they thought easily to master their foe by sheer brute force, without tedious manoeuvres." -
πρὸς
βίαν: opposed to
αἱμύλας
μηχανάς. Cp. Hor. Carm. iii. 4, 65 vis consili expers mole ruit sua.
210.
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210.
πολλῶν
ὀνομάτων
μορφὴ
μία: said in order to explain the identifi- cation of Gaea and Themis (cp. 1091), whom the common tradition distin- guished as mother and daughter (so Hesiod Theog. 135, and Aeschylus himself in Eum. 2
Γαῖαν·
ἐκ
δὲ
τῆς
Θέμιν). In identifying the two, the poet seems to have followed a local Attic tradition, of which an Attic inscription,
Ἱερίας
Γῆς
Θέμιδος, affords
220. a hint. In Arcadia, Demeter had the cognomen Themis; Paus. viii. 25, 4. Themis in 874 is called
Ti-
τανίς, as being the mother of the Titans; the poet includes under the term
Τιτάν all who belong to the Titan race. Similarly Prometheus, the son of a Titan, is spoken of as
Τιτὰν
Προμηθεύς, Soph.
Ο. C. 56, Eur. Phoen. 1122, Ion 455. Aeschylus, having of his own invention made Prometheus a son of Themis, wished to guard against a possible feeling of bewilderment on the part of his spectators, that the functions given to Gaea in the cosmogonic accounts (see Hesiod Theog. 463, 470, 494, 626, 884) should be transferred outright to Themis.
211.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-156
211.
κραίνοιτο : present tense, be- cause the prophesier thinks of the future as already present. Cp.
τίθη-
σιν 848,
τελεῖται 929.
212.
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212. Cp. Soph. Phil. 594
ἡ
μὴν
ἢ
λόγῳ
πείσαντες
ἄξειν
ἢ
πρὸς
ἰσχύος
κράτος, and see Krüger I. § 68, 39, 8.
213.
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213.
δόλῳ
δὲ
τοὺς
ὑπερσχόντας : =
τοὺς
δὲ
δόλῳ
ὑπερσχόντας, subject ac- cusative to
κρατεῖν. A fuller and
more emphatic expression for simple
δόλῳ. The position of
δόλῳ is due to the antithesis. Cp. Eur. Andr. 215
Θρήκην
χιόνι
τὴν
κατάρρυτον, Soph.
Ο.
Τ. 139
ἐκεῖνον
ὁ
κτανών, Demosth. VIII. 28
ταῦτα
τοὺς
ἀδικοῦντας,
ΧΙν. 25
ταῦτα
δὲ
οἱ
κεκτημένοι. The aor- ist
ὑπερσχόντας stands in connexion with
χρείη
κρατεῖν, “those were des- tined to be victors who should have outdone their adversaries in craft."
215.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-159
215.
προσβλέψαι :
προσβλέπειν is used in the sense in which
ἀποβλέ-
πειν is more commonly employed.
216.
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216. Cp. Ag. 1053
τὰ
λῶστα
τῶν
παρεστώτων
λέγει, Ar.
Εq. 30
κράτιστα
τοίνυν
τῶν
παρόντων
ἐστὶ
νῷν
κτἑ.
217.
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217.
προσλαβόντι:
συναιρομένῳ
τῆ
μητρί, Schol. The dative in agree- ment with
μοί, whereas the following
ἕκοντα (necessarily accusative on ac- count of
ἕκοντι) connects itself more closely with the infinitive. G. 138, N. 8 b; H. 941. Observe that
προλα-
βόντα
μητέρα would have been an equivocal succession. In Soph. O. T. 353, after
ἐννέπω
σε . . .
προσαυδᾶν
μήτε
τούσδε
μήτ'
ἐμέ, comes the dative
ὡς
ὄντι
γῆς
τῆσδ᾽
ἀνοσίῳ
μιάστορι, be- cause
ὡς
ὄντα ...
μιάστορα might seem to refer to
ἐμέ. Cp. also Soph. El.
225
230 959
ἢ
πάρεστι
μὲν
στένειν ...
ἐστε-
ρημένῃ,
πάρεστι
δ᾽
ἀλγεῖν ...
ἄλεκτρα
γηράσκουσαν, Eur. Med. 1237
δέ-
δοκταί
μοι
παῖδας
κτανούσῃ
τῆσδ᾽
ἀφορμᾶσθαι
χθονὸς
καὶ
μὴ
σχολὴν
ἄγουσαν
ἐκδοῦναι
τέκνα (in both examples the accusative is used under influence of the metre).
219.
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219.
Ταρτάρου: cp. passages quoted in note on 152; also Hesiod Theog. 851
Τιτῆνές
θ᾽
ὑποταρτάριοι
Κρόνον
ἀμφὶς
ἐόντες.
μελαμβαθής: cp. 1029, 1050, Il. viii. 479
ἵν᾽
Ἰάπετός
τε
Κρόνος
τε
ἥμενοι
οὔτ᾽
αὐγῇς
Ὑπερίονος
ἠελίοιο
τέρποντ᾽
οὔτ᾽
ἀνέμοισι,
βαθὺς
δέ
τε
Τάρταρος
ἀμφίς.
221.
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221.
αὐτοῖσι
συμμάχοισι : cp. 1047. G. 188, 5, N.;
H. 774 a. The article is generally omitted in this idiom.
223.
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223.
κακαῖσι
ποιναῖς: sometimes, it is true,
ποινή (indemnity, requital) is used, like
ἄποινα, in a good sense; so Suppl. 625
λέξωμεν
ἐπ᾿
᾿Αργείοις
εὐχὰς
ἀγαθὰς
ἀγαθῶν
ποινάς, Cho. 792
δίδυμα
καὶ
τριπλᾶ
παλίμποινα
θέλων
ἀμείψει, Pind. Pyth. i. 113
ποινὰν
τεθρίππων, Nem. i. 107
ἡσυχίαν
καμάτων
μεγάλων
ποινάν. Here, however,
κακαῖσι is added not simply to show that
ποιναῖς has its bad meaning (pénalty), for that is sufficiently indicated by
ταῖσδε,
but rather to emphasize further the idea contained in
ταῖσδε
ποιναῖς, as it were
ταῖσδε
ποιναῖς,
κακαῖς
ποιναῖς. Cp. Soph. Phil. 477
σοὶ
δ᾽
ὄνειδος
οὐ
καλόν, Eur. Phoen. 94
φαῦλος
ψόγος. –
ἐξημείψατο : used in the sense in which
ἀνταμείβομαι is commonly said. See on 215.
229.
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229.
νέμει : see on 109,
θηρῶμαι. – According to Hesiod Theog. 881, at the conclusion of the conflict with the Titans, the Olympian gods, fol- lowing Gaea's suggestion, appoint Zeus as the sovereign of the gods:
ὁ
δὲ
τοῖσιν
ἐὺ
διεδάσσατο
τιμάς. Cp. ibid. 73
εὖ
δὲ
ἕκαστα
ἀθανάτοις
διέταξεν
ὁμῶς
καὶ
πέφραδε
τιμάς.
230.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-166
230.
διεστοιχίζετο :
διήρει, Schol.
διετίθετο
ἐν
στοίχῳ
καὶ
τάξει,
διήρει·
ἀπὸ
τῶν
εἰς
τοὺς
σηκοὺς
εἰσαγόντων
τὰ
ποιμνία
καὶ
διακρινόντων
ἐκ
τῆς
νομῆς
ἑκάστῳ
τὰ
ἴδια, Hesych.
232.
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232 f.
ἀιστώσας: see on 151 and 668. Aeschylus has taken the legend 235
240 of a succession of ages and races of men, and modified it to suit his own conceptions. See Introduction, p. 15.
234.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-168
234.
καὶ
τοῖσιν : the article retains its pronominal force most frequently in connexion with
καί,
δέ (cp. 816), and
γάρ. Krüger II. § 50, 1, 1-5.
235.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-169
235. On asyndeton in explanations see Krüger I. § 59, 1, 5. –
ἐξελυσά-
μην: of deliverance from an impend- ing disaster, not yet actually present. So Od. x. 286
ἀλλ᾽
ἄγε
δή
σε
κακῶν
ἐκλύσομαι
ἠδὲ
σαώσω, Eur. Andr. 818
θανάτου
νιν
ἐκλύσασθε.
236.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-170
236. The infinitive with
τὸ
μή fol- lows expressions signifying prevention, or any other action opposed to that expressed by the infinitive itself. Krüger I. § 67, 12, 2–4; GMT. 811. See also 865 below, Ag. 1170
ἄκος
δ'
οὐδὲν
ἐπήρκεσαν
τὸ
μὴ
(μὴ
οὐ ?)
πόλιν
μὲν
ὥσπερ
οὖν
ἔχει
παθεῖν, Pers. 291
ὑπερβάλλει
γὰρ
ἥδε
συμφορὰ
τὸ
μήτε
λέξαι
μήτ᾽
ἐρωτῆσαι
πάθη.
237.
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237.
τῷ : therefore, as in Homer. Cp. Soph. O.
Τ. 511
τῷ
ἀπ᾿
ἐμᾶς
φρενὸς
οὔποτ᾽
ὀφλήσει
κακίαν. See on 234. —
τοῖαῖσδε : in
τοιοῦτος,
τοιόσδε (see Sept. 27, Ag. 1075),
οἷος,
ποιῶ, the diphthong
οι is often shortened. Krüger II. § 3, 3, 1; H. 92 D, d. In such cases o was probably writ- ten;
ποεῖν is often found in inscrip- tions.
239.
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239.
ἐν
οἴκτῳ
προθέμενος :
προ- has its temporal meaning, though I began by showing compassion. Cp.
Ag. 1008
καὶ
τὸ
μὲν
πρὸ
χρημάτων
κτησίων
ὄκνος
βαλών, Eur.
Ion 914
χάριν
οὐ
προ-
λαβών. –
τούτου: i.e.
τοῦ
ἐν
οἴκτῳ
τίθεσθαι.
241.
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241.
ἐρρύθμισμαι: ironical, have been disciplined, brought to order.
Ζηνὶ...
θέα: appositional phrases like this, taking up the second half of a verse, are very effective; see 350, 461. ،
242.
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242. Iron' and 'stone' are, from Homer on, frequent designations of what is unfeeling or stubborn. In Il. xvi. 33 Patroclus says to Achilles,
νη-
λεές,
οὐκ
ἄρα
σοί
γε
πατὴρ
ἦν
ἱππότα
Πηλεὺς
οὐδὲ
Θέτις
μήτηρ·
γλαυκὴ
δέ
245
250
σε
τίκτε
θάλασσα
πέτραι
τ'
ἠλίβατοι,
ὅτι
τοι
νόος
ἐστὶν
ἀπηνής, imitated by Verg. Aen. iv. 366 duris genuit te cautibus horrens Cauca- sus Hircanaeque admorunt ubera tigres; see also Ecl. viii. 43.
Ср. Il. xxiv. 205
σιδήρειον
νύ
τοι
ἦτορ, Hesiod Theog. 239
Εὐρυβίην
τ᾽
ἀδάμαντος
ἐνὶ
φρεσὶ
θυμὸν
ἔχουσαν, Pind. Frg. 88
ὃς
μὴ
πόθῳ
κυμαίνε-
ται,
ἐξ
ἀδάμαντος
ἢ
σιδάρου
κεχάλκευ-
ται
μέλαιναν
καρδίαν, Aesch. Sept. 52
σιδηρόφρων
γὰρ
θυμὸς
ἀνδρείᾳ
φλέγων
ἔπνει, Eur. Med. 1279
τάλαιν',
ὡς
ἄρ᾽
ἦσθα
πέτρος
ἢ
σίδαρος,
ἅτις
KTE-
νεῖς, Cycl. 596
πέτρας
τὸ
λῆμα
κἀδά-
μαντος
ἕξομεν, Theocr. x. 7
Μίλων
ὀψαμᾶτα,
πέτρας
ἀπόκομμ᾽
ἀτεράμνω, Moschus iv. 44
μοχθίζει
πέτρης
ὁ
γ'
ἔχων
νόον
ἠὲ
σιδήρου
καρτερὸν
ἐν
στή-
θεσσι, Tibull. i. 1, 63 flebis: non tua sunt duro praecordia ferro vincta neque in tenero stat tibi corde silex, Ovid Amor. iii. 6, 59 ille habet et silices et vivum in pectore ferrum, Hor. Carm. i.
3,
9 illi ro- bur et aes triplex circa pec- tus erat. ..
246.
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246.
‘καὶ
μήν aut et vero, et sane aut atqui significat' (Her- mann ad Vigerum, 332). Here it means et sane (with emphasis on
φίλοις); in 459, 1080 it means et vero in 982, 985, atqui. - For the omission of
εἰμί see on 42.
247.
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247.
μή: cp. 959, Pers. 344
μή
σοι
δοκοῦμεν
τῇδε
λειφθῆναι
μάχη; The chorus inclines to account for the severity of the punishment by sup- posing a more heinous crime. -
τῶνδε : than what thou hast said; cp.
ταύτῃ 189.
248.
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248.
προδέρκεσθαι : foreseeing death is an evil, in that it benumbs man's energies and stupefies his faculties, since death is ever present before his eyes, and a fixed limit is set to his activity. By
προδέρκεσθαι
μόρον the poet means this anxious expecta- tion of death. A somewhat different conception appears in Plato Gorg. 523 d, where Zeus says,
πρῶτον
μὲν
οὖν
παυστέον
ἐστὶ
προειδότας
αὐτοὺς
τὸν
θάνατον.
νῦν
γὰρ
προΐσασι.
τοῦτο
μὲν
οὖν
καὶ
δὴ
εἴρηται
τῷ
Προμηθεῖ
ὅπως
ἂν
παύσῃ
αὐτῶν. Here it is stated that men are not to know beforehand when they are to die, so that they may not try to deceive the judges of the lower world by pre- meditated artifices, and by providing witnesses to testify in their behalf. Cp. also Hor. Carm. iii. 29, 29 pru- dens futuri temporis exi- tum caliginosa nocte premit deus.
249.
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249.
τὸ
ποῖον
κτἑ. : =
τὸ
φάρμακον
τῆσδε
νόσου
ποῖον
εὑρών; remedium quod huic morbo adhibuisti quale fuit? Is qui interrogat, audiendi studio id, quod alterum dicere vult, occupaturus ipse ora- tionem incohat, quam ab illo ab- solvi vult; ipse autem quia eam absolvere non potest, addit pronomen interrogativum' (Hermann ad Vige- rum 25). –
νόσου: cp. 384, 596, 606, 632, 977, 1069.
250.
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250. As in dealing with the myth of the golden and silver ages, 232, Aeschylus here uses great freedom in treating the myth of Pandora (Hesiod O. D. 94: see Introduction, p. 6), so that the original form of
the story is no longer recognizable, and only the deeper significance re- mains. Man, never deserted by Hope, strives ceaselessly for the attainment of his ends, unmindful of death and untroubled by the thought that he may be cut off before his goal is reached. Cp. Simonides Amorg. Frg. 1, 3
ἐφήμεροι
ἃ
δὴ
βότ᾽
αἰεὶ
ζῶμεν,
οὐδὲν
εἰδότες
ὅπως
ἕκαστον
ἐκτελευτή-
σει
θεός.
ἐλπὶς
δὲ
πάντας
κἀπι-
πειθείη
τρέφει
ἄπρηκτον
ὁρμαίνοντας, Soph. Ant. 615
ὁ
γὰρ
δὴ
πολύπλαγκτος
ἐλπὶς
πολλοῖς
μὲν
ὄνασις
ἀνδρῶν,
πολ-
λοῖς
δ᾽
ἀπάτα
κουφονόων
ἐρώτων.
252.
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252.
σφίν : =
αὐτοῖς, as in 457. Krüger II. § 51, 1, 19.
σφίσιν in this sense is Homeric (Krüger II. § 51, 1, 17), but occurs in tragedy only in 481 below.
253.
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253.
φλογωπόν: the brightness of the fire is put forward, as rendering it the more unfit for the
ἐφήμεροι. The addition of this emphatic word justi- fies the repetition of
πῦρ. Cp. Suppl.
508
ΒΑ.
λευρὸν
κατ᾿
ἄλσος
νῦν
ἐπιστρέ-
φου
τόδε.
ΧΟ.
καὶ
πῶς
βέβηλον
ἄλ-
σος
ἂν
ῥύοιτό
με ; –
ἐφήμεροι : see on 83. Even the chorus feels it to be wrong that men should receive what properly belongs to the gods.
254.
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254.
γέ: in answers, affirms by adding a further statement ("yes, and from it..."); cp. 258, 379, 746, 768, 774. –
ἀφ᾿
οὗ: cp. 170.
255.
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255 f. Prometheus interrupts the question by his answer, and to the simple answer
(αἰκίζεται) adds the significant statement
οὐδαμῇ
χαλᾷ
και
κῶν. By this addition the artifice for preserving the stichomythy is con- cealed, and the dialogue proceeds naturally. A more common device is the insertion of a question; this question is so connected in construc- tion with the interrupted sentence which precedes, that in answering it the speaker simply takes up his un- finished speech where he left it off. Thus Pers. 734
ΑΤ.
Ξέρξην
φασὶν.
ΔΑ.
πῶς
τελευτᾶν;
ΑΤ.
ἄσμενον
μο-
λεῖν.
257.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-184
257.
οὐδέ: cp.
καί in 253.
258.
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258. Ср. 376. A different state- ment is made in 756.
259.
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259.
δόξει
δὲ
πῶς:
δόξει stands first because it takes up the thought of the preceding
δοκῇ. Cp. Soph. El. 1429
ΧΟ.
λεύσσω
γὰρ
Αἴγισθον.
ΟΡ.
εἰσ-
ορᾶτε
ποῦ
τὸν
ἄνδρα;
260.
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260.
ἥμαρτες : a moral wrong is not meant, but only an act of im- prudence and mistaken judgment- rebellion, that is, against a superior adversary. This is clear from 266 and its explanation in 267.
262.
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262.
ἔκλυσιν
ζήτει
τινά: that is, by submission. Cp. 316 with 315.
263.
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263. Cp. Cho. 697
ἔξω
κομίζων
ὀλε-
θρίου
πηλοῦ
πόδα (where the scholiast remarks,
ἔξω
πηλοῦ
πόδα,
παροιμία), Soph. Phil. 1260
ἴσως
ἂν
ἐκτὸς
κλαυμά-
των
ἔχοις
πύδα, Eur. Heracl. 109
καλὸν
δέ
γ'᾽
ἔξω
πραγμάτων
ἔχειν
πόδα,
εὐβου-
λίας
τυχόντα
τῆς
ἀμείνονος. 265
270
264.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-190
264.
Cp. Eur. Alc. 1078
ῥᾷον
παραι-
νεῖν
ἢ
παθόντα
καρτερεῖν,
H. F. 1249
σὺ
δ᾽
ἐκτὸς
ὤν
γε
συμφορᾶς
με
νουθετεῖς, Terent. Andr. 309 facile omnes, quom valemus, recta con- silia aegrotis damus
265.
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265 f. With the words
ἐγὼ
δὲ
ταῦθ᾽
ἅπαντ᾿
ἠπιστάμην and
ἑκών Prome- theus rejects the charge of impru- dence, and restricts his
ἁμάρτημα to the disregard of
self-interest, as de- scribed in the next verse (267). So his 'error' is after all a noble ac- tion. –
ἑκὼν
ἑκών: repetition
(ἀva-
δίπλωσις) emphasizes expressions of sorrow, entreaty, and asseveration. Ср. 274, 338, 688, 694, 887, 894, 999; also 577, 594, and 392, 937. –
οὐκ
ἀρνήσομαι: this refers only to the word
ἥμαρτον. The sense is, "I will not object to your phrase
ἥμαρτες” (260), "I will not insist on another word."
267.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-192
267.
θνητοῖς
ἀρήγων: explanatory asyndeton. See on 235. –
ηὑρόμην : cp. Sept. 878
μελέους
θανάτους
ηὕροντο, Soph. Ai. 1023
καὶ
ταῦτα
πάντα
σοῦ
θανόντος
ηὑρόμην.
268.
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268 ff.
ᾠόμην...
με
κατισχνανεῖ-
σθαι . . .
τυχόντα: instead of
ᾠόμην
κατισχνανεῖσθαι
τυχών. Krüger I. § 55, 2, 3; H. 940 b. For Homeric exam- ples see Krüger II. § 51, 2, 1 and § 55, 2, 2. Cp. also Soph. Ai. 606
κακὰν
ἐλπίδ᾽
ἔχων
ἔτι
μέ
ποτ᾽
ἀνύσειν,
Ει. 65
καμ᾽
ἐπαυχῶ...
λάμψειν
ἔτι, 471
δοκῶ
με
πεῖραν
τήνδε
τολμήσειν
ἔτι, Eur. Alc. 641
καί
μ᾽
οὐ
νομίζω
παῖδα
σὸν
πεφυκέναι, Hdt. i. 34
ὅτι
ἐνόμισε
ἑωυτὸν (emphatic)
εἶναι
ἀνθρώ-
πων
ἁπάντων
ὀλβιώτατον, Plat. Rep. iii. 400 b
οἶμαι
δέ
με
ἀκηκοέναι, Isocr.
ιν. 85
οὐκ
ἐχθροὺς
ἀλλ᾽
ἀνταγωνιστὰς
σφᾶς
αὐτοὺς
εἶναι
νομίζοντες. -
κατι-
σχνανεῖσθαι: cp. 147. Future middle used like
aὐανοῦμαι, Soph. Phil. 954. Krüger I. § 39, 11. –
πεδαρσίοις : see 710, 916; Cho. 846
λόγοι
πεδάρσιοι
θρώσκουσι. This Aeolic form
(πεδά =
μετά) Aeschylus uses in a few other words:
πέδοικος Frg. 48,
πεδαίχμιος and
πεδάορος Cho. 589 f. –
ἐρήμου: cp. Frg. 305, 10
δρυμοὺς
ἐρήμους
καὶ
πά- 275
280
γους, Soph. Phil. 691
ἵν᾿
αὐτὸς
ἦν
πρόσουρος
οὐκ
ἔχων
βάσιν
οὐδέ
τιν'
ἐγχώρων
κακογείτονα.
271.
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271.
καί
μοι
κτέ.: and so bewail my lot no more, presupposing the thought "your admonitions are unavailing." ·
δύρεσθε:
δύρομαι =
ὀδύρομαι belongs to tragic diction.
272.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-195
272.
πέδοι
βᾶσαι: i.e. so as to listen more conveniently to a long narra- tion. A motive is thus provided for the descent of the chorus from its
ear into the orchestra.
βούλεται
γὰρ
στῆσαι
τὸν
χορὸν
ὅπως
τὸ
στάσιμον
ᾄσῃ, Schol.
273.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-196
273.
διὰ
τέλους: cp. Soph. Ai. 685
διὰ
τέλους
εὔχου
τελεῖσθαι. For the resolution see on 76. It is rendered easier by the fact that the chief cae- sura falls in the fourth foot (see on 2).
275.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-197
275.
νῦν: said in reference to the thought which follows,
"to-morrow your turn may come." -
ταὐτά: ad- verbial, nearly =
κατὰ
κοινόν, impar- tially, for all alike. See on 398, and cp. Soph. Ai. 687
ταὐτὰ
τῇδέ
μοι
τάδε
τιμᾶτε. Properly it is the inner object (cognate accusative).
276.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-198
276.
πρὸς
ἄλλοτ᾽
ἄλλον: for the order, see on 762 and 19. - For the
thought cp. Archil. Frg. 9, 7
ἄλλοτε
δ᾽
ἄλλος
ἔχει
τόδε·
νῦν
μὲν
ἐς
ἡμέας
ἐτράπεθ᾽,
αἱματόεν
δ᾽
ἕλκος
ἀναστένομεν,
ἐξαῦτις
δ᾽
ἑτέρους
ἐπαμείψεται, Pind. Ol. ii. 60
ῥοαὶ
δ᾽
ἄλλοτ᾽
ἄλλαι
εὐθυμιᾶν
τε
μέτα
καὶ
πόνων
ἐς
ἄνδρας
ἔβαν.
277-283.
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277-283. The anapaests of the chorus accompany the action of the machinery by which Oceanus is brought on the scene. See on 114-127.
277.
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277. Cp. Soph. Phil. 1178
φίλα
μοι,
φίλα
ταῦτα
παρήγγειλας
ἑκόντι
τε
πράσ-
σειν, Homer Il. iv. 73
ώτρυνε
πάρος
μεμαυῖαν
᾿Αθήνην. –
ἐπεθώυξας : see on 73.
279.
mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-201
279.
καί: and so, accordingly.
282.
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282 f.
πελῶ: future of
πελάζω.
πόνους . . .
διὰ
παντὸς
ἀκοῦσαι: as promised in 272. Compliance with this request follows much later, 755 ff. and in the speech beginning at 823. Curiosity and expectation are thus maintained.
284-396.
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284-396. Second Scene of the First Episode. Oceanus, father of the Oceanids, enters (from the right), mounted upon a winged steed
(τετρασκελής
οἰωνός 395) like 285.
290 Pegasus. The scholiast understands a griffin, because of this word
οἰωνός, but
sea-gods, in older Greek art, are often seen riding on hippocamps or
sea-horses. The machine here used was the
αἰώρημα, a sort of crane with hanging ropes, by which persons could be swung aloft, moved through the air, and let down again. The scholiast remarks,
καιρὸν
δίδωσι
τῷ
χορῷ
καθήκασθαι
(καθιμᾶσθαι ?)
τῆς
μηχανῆς
᾿Ὠκεανὸς
ἐλθών·
ὑπερβολῇ
δὲ
ἐχρήσατο,
ὅπου
γε
Ὅμηρος
οὐκ
εἰσήγα-
γεν
᾿Ὠκεανὸν
εἰς
τὸν
σύλλογον
τῶν
θεῶν (on this cp. Il. xx. 7
οὔτε
τις
οὖν
Ποταμῶν
ἀπέην
νόσφ᾽
᾿Ὠκεανοῖο). The anapaests of Oceanus accompany the descent of the chorus from their chariot into the orchestra. - This scene and the second episode form the second act, the beginning of the action which leads to the catastrophe. See on 307 and 436.
284.
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284.
δολιχῆς : an epic word. The way is long because Oceanus comes from the depths of the sea. Cp. 300 f.
