Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 877

Herbert Weir Smyth (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Scene
← Previous Next →

Prometheus Bound. Aeschylus. Herbert Weir Smyth (Translator). New York. 1922.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Prometheus Bound (English) (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Editions (7)
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 887-906 focus
Προμηθεὺς δεσμώτης Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922.) — 877 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 877 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 877 focus
ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 877 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 877 focus
ἐλελελελελεῦ,
ὑπό μ᾽ αὖ σφάκελος καὶ φρενοπληγεῖς
μανίαι θάλπουσ', οἴστρου δ᾽ ἄρδις
905
χρίει μ' ἄπυρος·
κραδία δὲ φόβῳ φρένα λακτίζει.
τροχοδινεῖται δ᾽ ὄμμαθ᾽ ἑλίγδην,
ἔξω δὲ δρόμου φέρομαι λύσσης
πνεύματι μάργῳ, γλώσσης ἀκρατής·
910
θολεροὶ δὲ λόγοι παίουσ᾽ εἰκῇ
στυγνῆς πρὸς κύμασιν ἄτης.
Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 877 focus
Translations (8)
Prometheus Bound. (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Bound.. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 877 focus
Eleleu! Eleleu! Once more the spasm
and maddenin- phrenzies inflame me—and the sting of the hornet, wrought by no fire,
envenoms me; and with panic my heart throbs violently against my breast. My eyes too are rolling in a mazy whirl, and I am carried out of my course by the raging blast of madness, having no controul of tongue, but my troubled words dash idly against the surges of loathsome calamity.
PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ (OCR draft) Experimental (PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 877 focus
.
Prometheus Chained (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Chained. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 877 focus
Ah me! Ah wretched me! That pang again!
Again that firey pang, whoſe mad'ning ſmart
905
Corrodes and rankles in my breaſt! With fear
My heart pants thick; wildly my eyeballs roll;
Diſtraction drives my hurried ſteps a length.
Of weary wand'ring; my ungovern'd tongue
Utters tumultuous ravings, that roll high
910
The floods of paſſion ſwoln with horrid woes.
Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 877 focus
Ahimè, ahimè !
Tutta ancora m'invade uno spasimo,
le frenetiche smanie mi bruciano,
1015
mi trafora de l'estro la cuspide
che non ebbe dal fuoco la tempera.
Per terrore nel petto il cuor calcitra,
le pupille stravolte mi ruotano,
fuor mi spinge dal tramite il soffio
1020
della rabbia demente, né domino
piú la mente. Ed a caso s'abbattono
procellose parole sui flutti
di orribili lutti.
Io, colta da un nuovo accesso di delirio, fugge a gran balzi.
Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 877 focus
Heu heu, ἐλελελοῦ,
Me rursus sideratio, & quæ mentem percellit
880
Insania, calefaciunt, stimuli cuspis
Me pungit frigidâ,
Cor timore mentem calcitrat:
Vertuntur oculi in gyrum,
Extra cursum feror rabie,
885
Spiritu stolido, linguæ imbecillis,
Turbulenti sermones, ferimur temerè
Ad fluctus tristis nocumenti,
Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Bound. Anna Swanwick, 1886.) — 877 focus
English (E. D. A. Morshead, 1908) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound — Morshead translation. Wikisource transcription; speech corresp and card milestones aligned to Smyth perseus-grc2.) — 877 focus
O woe, O rending and convulsive pain,
985
Frenzy and agony, again, again
Searing my heart and brain!
O dagger of the sting, unforged with fire
Yet burning, burning ever! O my heart,
Pulsing with horror, beating at my breast!
990
O rolling maddened eyes! away, apart,
Raving with anguish dire,
I spring, by frenzy-fiends possest.
O wild and whirling words, that sweep in gloom
Down to dark waves of doom!
995
[ Exit Io.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1854; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylos. Deutsch in den Versmaßen der Urschrift. Stuttgart: Hoffmann, 1854. Native Donner line citations, Smyth card correspondence, selected textual readings and metrical facsimiles. Remaining OCR differences and unattributed reading notes are documented in the linked review inventory.) — 877 focus
O Leid, o Leid !

Commentary

Critical apparatus to Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (Latin and Greek critical apparatus to Gottfried Hermann's 1852 edition of Prometheus Bound.) focus

877. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-987

ἐμοὶ:
ἐμὴ
Vit. Cantabr. 1. 2. Ox. Par. K. Ven. 3. Bess. et ex corr. G. in quo prius
ἐμοὶ
fuerat.
οι
superscriptum in Colb. 2.
ἐμοὶ
M. Lips. aliique codices et edd. vett.

877. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-988

θεῶν: In fine versus libri omnes
Θέμις
, praeter G. in quo est
θεῶν
, superscripto
Θέμις
ut ex interpretatione. In Vit. ad
Θέμις
adscripta interpretatio
ἡ γῆ
. Hae glossae, simulque
παλαιγενής
epitheton, quod ineptum esset si de Promethei matre diceretur, genuinam esse produnt codicis Guelferbytani scripturam, interpretes autem ex v. 211. seqq. quae esset illa deorum mater explicaturos in diversa discessisse, aliis Tellurem, aliis Themidem dici putantibus. Itaque hunc sum librum secutus.

878. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-989

ὅπως δὲ χὤπῃ:
ὅπως δ᾽ ἔχω πῇ
Lips. Codex Vit. habuerat
πῶς δ᾽ ἔχω. ποῖ
, cum hac glossa,
ᾧτινι τρόπῳ ἔξω ποῦ
, quod
ποῦ
ab eadem manu in
πότε
mutatum, in textu autem correctum primum verbum in
ὅπως
, deinde ad
γρ
supra apposita signa quibus fieret
ὅπῃ
.

878. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-990

δεῖ:
δὲ
pro
δεῖ
Lips. Alii nonnulli
δή
.

878. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-991

λόγου:
χρόνου
G. Lips. aliique et Ald. Rob. Turn.
λόγου
M. Vit. Par. F. Hoc praetuli. Apte comparavit Stephanus Pers. 714.
πάντα γάρ, Δαρεῖε, ἀκούσει μῦθον ἐν βραχεῖ λόγῳ
. Quamquam ibi quoque pars librorum
χρόνῳ
habet.

879. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-992

σύ τ':
σὺ δ'
Vit. Colb. 1. Ceteri, opinor, omnes ut M. G. Lips. edd. vett.
σύ τ'
, aptius his leviter et segnius adiectis.

880. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-993

ἐλελεῦ, ἐλελεῦ:
ἐλελελελελεῦ
M. G. Lips. Turn.
ἐλελελελελελεῦ
septem syllabis Cantabr. 1. Quinque syllabis Ald. Sic etiam Rob. sed
ἰὼ. ἰὼ.
praemittens.
ἰω, ἰω, ἔλε, ἔλε, ἔλε, λε λεῦ
Par. E. Codex Vit. in quo quod praecedit
i
nomen Io est, sic,
έλε λε λε ἐλε λελεῦ
, octo syllabis, quarum quinta et sexta minoribus litteris in vacuo spatio insertae. Hesychius
ἐλελεῦ, ἐπιφώνημα πολεμικόν. οἳ δέ, προαναφώνησις παιανισμοῦ. τίθησι δὲ αὐτὸ Αἰσχύλος ἐπὶ σχετλιασμοῦ ἐν Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ
. Emendavit Pauwius
ἐλελεῦ, ἐλελεῦ
.

881. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-994

φρενοπληγεῖς:
φρενοβλαβεῖς
G. Lips. Bess. aliique nonnulli.

882. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-995

ἄρδις:
ἄρσις
G. Hesychius
ἄρδις, ἀκίς. Αἰσχύλος Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ
.

882. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-996

ἄπυρος:
ἄπειρος
G. Par. E. F. Dictum est
ἄπυρος
ut in Choeph. 487.
πέδαις δ᾽ ἀχαλκεύτοις ἐθηρεύθης, πάτερ
.

883. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-997

κραδία:
καρδία
M. G. Vit. Lips. Cantabr. 2. Par. E. Bess. Ceteri
κραδία
.

883. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-998

φόβῳ φρένα λακτίζει:
φρένα φόβῳ λακτίζει
Vit. aliique nonnulli et Ald.
φόβῳ λακτίζει φρένα
Rob.

884. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-999

ὄμμαθ' ἑλίγδην:
ὄμματ' ἐλίγδην
Lips.

English commentary on Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (N. Wecklein, translated by F. D. Allen. Ginn & Company, 1893; compared with the 1891 printing. Printed commentary pages 31–144. Provisional alignment and unresolved OCR are visibly flagged.) focus

561-886. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-375

1
2
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.).

877. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-557

3
4
877 ff. As a motive for Io's depar- ture, the poet employs a fresh ac- cession of madness (οἶστρος). primos tantum furoris impetus verbis describit, reliquos vero scena egressa spectatoris imaginationi coniciendos relinquit' (Schütz). — ἐλελεῦ: θρηνώ- δες ἐπίφθεγμα, Schol. ἐλελεῦ· ἐπιφώ- νημα πολεμικόν· οἳ δὲ, προαναφώνησις παιανισμοῦ· τίθησι δὲ αὐτὸ Αἰσχύλος ἐπὶ σχετλιασμοῦ ἐν Προμηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ, Hesych. The battle-cry serves to depict the fury of madness. - ὑπό... θάλπουσι: see on 574. In trimeter, Aeschylus nowhere interposes impor- tant words, or several words, between preposition and verb, except in Ag. 1215 and the doubtful passage Sept. 1028. ὑπό here implies inception, "begins to burn." For θάλπειν cp. Αg. 1256 παπαῖ, οἷον τὸ πῦρ· ἐπέρ- χεται δέ μοι, spoken by Casandra, seized with prophetic mania. - σφά- κελος: σπασμὸς τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου, Schol. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1351 διά μου κεφαλᾶς ᾄσσουσ᾽ ὀδύναι, κατὰ δ᾽ ἐγκέφαλον πηδᾷ σφάκελος. – ἄρδις : ἀκίς, Αἰσχύλος Προ- μηθεῖ δεσμώτῃ, Hesych.

880. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-558

5
6
880. ἄπυρος: the scholiast ex- plains, ἡ πολύπυρος διὰ τὸ σφοδρὸν πά- θος (assuming 'alpha intensivum') ἢ πῦρ μὴ ἔχουσα. The latter inter- pretation, in the sense of 'telum igni non admotum, sine igne factum,' was shown to be right by Schütz and Hermann. 'Adiectivo ἄπυρος telum metaphorice dictum a proprie sic ap- pellato discrevit Aeschylus' (Schütz). Cp. Cho. 493 πέδαις ἄχαλκεύτοις (of Clytaemnestra's entangling noose), Frg. 298, 4 ἄπτεροι πελειάδες (of the Pleiades), Ag. 1258 δίπους λέαινα (of Clytaemnestra), Sept. 64 κῦμα χερσαῖον στρατοῦ, ibid. 942 ὁ πόντιος ξεῖνος ἐκ πυρὸς συθεὶς (the sword), Soph. Trach. 874 βέβηκε Δηιάνειρα τὴν πανυστάτην ὁδῶν ἁπασῶν ἐξ ἀκινήτου ποδός, Ο. Τ. 190 ῎Αρεα ... ὃς νῦν ἄχαλκος ἀσπίδων (the pest), Eur. Frg. 598 αἰδοῦς ἀχαλ- κεύτοισιν ἔζευκται πέδαις, Iph. T. 1095 ἄπτερος ὄρνις, Οr. 621 ὑφῆψε δῶμ᾽ ἀνη- φαίστῳ πυρί.

881. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-559

7
8
881. φρένα: see on 361. - For the conception cp. Cho. 165 ὀρχεῖται δὲ καρδία φόβῳ, 1025 πρὸς δὲ καρδίᾳ φόβος ᾄδειν ἕτοιμος, ἡ δ᾽ ὑπορχεῖσθαι κρότῳ, Ag. 996 πρὸς ἐνδίκοις φρεσὶν τελεσφό- ραις δίναις κυκλούμενον κέαρ, Il. vii. 216 Εκτορί τ' αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσεν.

882. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-560

9
10
882. τροχοδινεῖται : cp. στροφοδι- νοῦνται, Ag. 51.

883. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-561

11
12
883. ἔξω δρόμου φέρομαι: (δρόμος =track) cp. Cho. 1022 ὥσπερ ξὺν ἵπποις ἡνιοστροφῶ δρόμου ἐξωτέρω· φέρουσι γὰρ νικώμενον φρένες δύσαρκτοι, Ag. 1245 ἐκ δρόμου πεσὼν τρέχω. Also Engl. 'be deranged.'

884. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-562

13
14
884. γλώσσης ἀκρατής: cp. The- ogn. 503 οἰνοβαρέω κεφαλήν . γλώσ- σης οὐκέτ᾽ ἐγὼ ταμίης ἡμετέρης, τὸ δὲ δῶμα περιτρέχει, Lucret. iii. 453, clau- dicat ingenium, delirat lin- gua.

885. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-563

15
16
885 f. θολεροί: Hesych. θολερόν· ταραχώδες, ἀκάθ ρτον, βορβορῶδες, τε- ταραγμένον. Cp. Schol. Ai. 206 (θολερῷ χειμῶνη νοσήσας). The adjective sug- gests the mud (κελαινὰν θίνα, Soph. Ant. 589) stirred up from the bottom of the sea by the waves. Io's words are like this; they beat against the billows of madness and are tossed by them at random (εἰκῇ, corresponding to foregoing ἀκρατὴς γλώσσης), so as to be planless and incoherent. παίουσι πρὸς κύμασιν : cp. Eur. Hec. 116 πολλῆς δ᾽ ἔριδος συνέπαισε κλύδων.