Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 152

Anna Swanwick (Translator)

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PROMETHEUS
She of her roaming hath the limit heard,
But yet that she may know that not in vain
She heard my tale, her woes ere coming here
I will relate, sure pledge my words are true.
Tedious array of words I shall omit,
And of thy roamings reach at once the goal;
For when Molossia's plains thy foot had trod,
Round lofty-ridged Dodona, where is found
The seat prophetic of Thesprotian Zeus,

And, portent past belief, the speaking oaks,
By which full clearly, in no riddling phrase,
Wast hailed as the illustrious spouse of Zeus,
Fate-destined,—doth this flatter thee at all?—
Thence, fiercely stung, along the sea-washed tract,
To Rhea's mighty gulf didst hurry,—whence
In courses retrograde wast rudely tossed.
But know thou this, that through all future time
That sea-gulf shall the name Ionian bear,
To all mankind memorial of thy way;

These then to thee be tokens of my mind,
That more discerneth than doth meet the sense.

Prometheus Bound. Aeschylus. Anna Swanwick (Translator). London. 1886.

Sponsored by University of Leipzig.

Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.

Current edition Experimental

Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (English) (Prometheus Bound. Anna Swanwick, 1886.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (7)
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 128-194 focus
Προμηθεὺς δεσμώτης Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922.) — 128-195 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 152 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 152 focus
ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 152 focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 152 focus
εἰ γάρ μ' ὑπὸ γῆν νέρθεν θ' Ἅιδου
τοῦ νεκροδέγμονος
εἰς ἀπέραντον Τάρταρον ἧκεν,
δεσμοῖς ἀλύτοις ἀγρίοις πελάσας,
ὡς μήτε θεὸς μήτε τις ἄλλος
165
τοῖσδ᾽ ἐπεγήθει.
νῦν δ᾽ αἰθέριον κίνυγμ᾽ ὁ τάλας
ἐχθροῖς ἐπίχαρτα πέπονθα.
Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 152 focus
Translations (8)
Prometheus Bound Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. (Modernized by Perseus.)) — 128-195 focus
Prometheus Bound. (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Bound.. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 152 focus
Oh would that he had sent me beneath the earth, and below into the boundless Tartarus of Hades that receives the dead, after savagely securing me in indissoluble bonds, so that no god at any time, nor any other being, had exulted in this my doom. Whereas now, hapless one, I, the sport of the winds, suffer pangs that gladden my foes.
PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ (OCR draft) Experimental (PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 152 focus
mes ennemis !
Prometheus Chained (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Chained. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 152 focus
Beneath the earth,
Beneath the gulfs of Tartarus, g
that ſpread
Interminable o'er the dead,
160
Had his ſtern fury fix'd this rigid chain,
Nor gods, nor men had triumph'd in my pain.
But pendent in th' ætherial air,
The pageant gratifies my ruthleſs foes,
That gaze, inſult, and glory in my woes. h
165
Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 152 focus
Prometeo, veggo. Ed una fosca nuvola
di lagrimose stille
mi preme le pupille,
te contemplando in lacci indissolubili
170
•
Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 152 focus
Sì uerò me sub terram ad inferos
Mortiferos in immenſum
Tartarum misiſſet, uinculis in disſolutis
Ferociter appropinquans, ut neque Deus,
160
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.) — 152 focus
Had he but hurled me, far beneath
170
The vast and ghostly halls of Death,
Down to the limitless profound
Of Tartarus, in fetters bound,
Fixed by his unrelenting hand!
So had no man, nor God on high,
175
Exulted o'er mine agony—
But now, a sport to wind and sky,
Mocked by my foes, I stand!
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.) — 152 focus
O hätt' er hinab in den Hades mich
Zu den Todten gestürzt, in der Tartarosnacht
Unermeßliche Kluft, mit unlösbarem Band
Zornvoll mich umstrickt, daß weder ein Gott
155
Noch ein Anderer sonst frohlockte darob!
Nun schweb' ich den Lüften ein Spielwerk hier,
Muß dulden zur Lust für die Feinde !
Zweite Strophe.

Commentary

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

851. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-962

χειρὶ: Libri
χειρὶ
, nisi quod M. a sec. manu gravem accentum habet.

851. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-963

ἀταρβεῖ:
ἀταρβεῖ
scholia explicant
ἀφοβοποιῷ
, similiterque Blomfieldius nullum metum incutiente, placido, comparans Moschi versus II. 50.
ἐν δ᾽ ἦν Ζεὺς Κρονίδης, ἐπαφώμενος ἠρέμα χερσὶν πόρτιος Ἰναχίης, τὴν ἑπταπόρῳ παρὰ Νείλῳ ἐκ βοὺς εὐκεράοιο πάλιν μετάμειβε γυναῖκα
. Non credam isto significatu hoc vocabulum dictum esse, qui ne aptus quidem hic est, quum non sit quare metuendam sibi manum eius a quo amatur putet Io: sed est epitheton ornans, potentiam Iovis significandi caussa positum.

851. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-964

θιγὼν:
θιγὼν
M. Rob. Ceteri
θίγων
.

852. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-965

γεννημάτων: Omnes libri
γεννημάτων
, nisi quod M. a pr. manu et Lips.
γεννημάτων
. Miror Valckenario placuisse quod ad Phoen. 639. refert Scaligerum ex Peyraredi coniectura in libri sui margine adscripsisse,
θιγημάτων
. Nam quod affert ex Hesychio,
θιγημάτων, μιασμάτων
, id alio spectare apertum est, et ne scriptum quidem sic est apud Hesychium, sed, uti debebat,
θιγμάτων
. Tanta tamen fuit auctoritas Valckenarii, ut huic probatum verbum analogiae contrarium reciperent Brunckius et Schützius. Nihil prodesse puto tali coniecturae defendendae hoc scholion codicis Vit.
ἐνταῦθα ὁ Ζεὺς πάλιν ποιήσει ἄνθρωπον, ἀφόβῳ χειρὶ ἐφαψάμενός σου· τέξεις δὲ καὶ παῖδα Ἔπαφον ὀνομαζόμενον, ἐπώνυμον τῆς ἐπαφήσεως τῆς Διός
. Sensum enim eo scholio, non verba singula reddi alia scholia ostendunt. At, inquiunt Valckenarius et Brunckius, absurdum est
γεννημάτων
. Fateor ita videri posse, quum non praecedat quo referatur hoc vocabulum: quod recte se haberet, si
ἔγκυον
pro
ἔμφρονα
dixisset. At non multo minus absurdum esset, si ferri posset,
θιγημάτων
. Nam si sanam mentem contactu suo restituit virgini, quis inde colligat etiam gravidam eo contactu factam esse? Inde mihi olim nata est suspicio, in quam postea vidi etiam Elmsleium incidisse, deesse hic versum post
ἔμφρονα
, praesertim quum
μόνον
, si ad
τίθησιν ἔμφρονα
referatur, plane sit inutile, quia mentis compotem Iuppiter etiam nutu et sola voluntate sua reddere poterat. Nam alia minus probabilis est Elmsleii coniectura, haec verba,
ἐπαφῶν ἀταρβεῖ χειρὶ καὶ θιγὼν μόνον
, ex adnotatione in textum venisse: quae verba neque interpretem produnt, et ad intelligentiam rei sunt necessaria. Itaque omissi versus signa ante hunc versum posui. Recte enim iam omnia procedent, si tale quid scriptum fuisse statuamus,
παύσας τε μόχθων τῶνδε φιτύσει γόνον
. Vereor enim ne nimiae negligentiae reum faciat Aeschylum, qui quasi res nota fuerit omnibus omisisse eum credat mentionem graviditatis afferatque contraria ratione non dissimiles versus ex Supplicibus 298-300.
ΧΟ. καὶ Ζεύς γ᾽ ἐφάπτωρ χειρὶ φιτύει γόνον. ΒΑ. τίς οὖν ὁ Δῖος πόρτις εὔχεται βοός;
ΧΟ. Ἔπαφος, ἀληθῶς ῥυσίων ἐπώνυμος·
quod ut illic
ῥύσια
dicuntur, etsi nihil praecessit quo id vocabulum referatur, sic hic dictum sit
γεννημάτων
. At multo tamen facilius ex eo, quod potitus virgine Iuppiter tangendo ex ea prolem genuit, servatam esse, quam genuisse eum prolem ex eo, quod mentis compotem reddiderit, potest intelligi.

853. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-966

τέξεις κελαινὸν Ἔπαφον:
τέξει κελαινὸν Ἔπαφ'
Lips.

855. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-967

γέννα:
γένα
G.

855. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-968

πεντηκοντάπαις:
πεντηκοντάπαις
G. Coll. 2. Cantabr. 1. Ven. 3. Bess. Ald. Turn. Ceteri
πεντηκοντόπαις
, ut Eustathius p. 37, 32. Atticam formam Blomfieldius recepit.

857. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-969

θηλύσπορος:
θηλύσπορος
Μ.
θηλύπορος
Lips.
θηλύσπορον
G. Ald.

858. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-970

ἐπτοημένοι:
ἐπτωημένοι
G.
ἐπτούμενοι
Lips.

859. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-971

NA: Suppl. 210.
ἐν ἁγνῷ δ᾽ ἑσμὸς ὡς πελειάδων ἵζεσθε κίρκων τῶν ὁμοπτέρων φόβῳ, ἐχθρῶς ὅμαιμον καταμιαινόντων γένος
.

860. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-972

θηρεύσοντες:
θηρεύοντες
Vit. Colb. 1.

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.).

850. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-542

3
4
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. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-543

5
6
851. τέξεις: the same form 869, the middle form 768.

852. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-544

7
8
852. πλατύρρους: cp. Frg. 304 ἔνθα Νεῖλος ἑπτάρους. The uncon- tracted -poos appears in Frg. 280 πλεκτάνην χειμάρροον. ...

853. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-545

9
10
853. πέμπτη: see on 774.

854. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-546

11
12
854. οὐχ ἑκοῦσα: explained by φεύγουσα ἀνεψιῶν below. – ἐλεύ- σεται: ἐλεύσομαι recurs Suppl. 522. Elsewhere the Attic poets use only εἶμι.

855. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-547

13
14
855 f. συγγενή: gives the motive for φεύγουσα. – ἀνεψιῶν : cp. Suppl. 320 Δαναός· ἀδελφὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶ πεντακον- τάπαις ... Αἴγυπτος. - ἐπτοημένοι : cp. Eur. Iph. A. 586 ἔρωτι δ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐπ- τοάθης, Sappho Frg. 2, 5 καὶ γελαίσας ἰμερόεν, τό μοι μὰν καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόασεν, Apoll. Rhod. Arg. i. 1232 τῆς δὲ φρένας ἐπτοίησεν Κύπρις.

857. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-548

15
16
857. κίρκοι: the simile is added without comparative conjunction, in poetic fashion. For the comparison cp. Suppl. 223 ἐν ἁγνῷ δ᾽ ἑσμὸς ὡς πελειάδων ἵζεσθε κίρκων τῶν ὁμοπτέρων φόβῳ, Ιl. xxii. 139 ἠύτε κίρκος ὄρεσφιν ἐλαφρότατος πετεεινῶν ῥηιδίως οἴμησε μετὰ τρήρωνα πέλειαν. sense:

859. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-549

17
18
859. φθόνον ἕξει : = φθονήσει. Cp. χρείαν ἔχειν 169, and Cho. 481. The "God will begrudge them their desire," σωμάτων τῶν παρθένων φθονήσει αὐτοῖς (cp. 584), 'puella- rum fructum deus maritis invidebit' (Heyne). The marriage will be cele- brated, but will be dissolved in blood.

860. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-550

19
20
860 f. Πελασγία: cp. Eur. Suppl. 367 καὶ μεγάλᾷ Πελασγίᾳ καὶ κατ᾿ ῎Αρ- yos, Strabo p. 221 Αἰσχύλος ἐκ τοῦ περὶ Μυκήνας ῎Αργους φησὶν ἐν Ἱκέτισι καὶ Δαναΐσι τὸ γένος αὐτῶν (ⅰ.e. τῶν Πελασ-
γῶν) καὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον δὲ Πελασ- γίαν φησὶν Ἔφορος κληθῆναι. Argos (Suppl. 634), the land of Pelasgus (Suppl. 250), is meant. — δέξεται : both sense and syntax demand aἱμάξεται (= αἱμαχθήσεται, as Soph. Phil. 48 φυ- λάξεται = φυλαχθήσεται). Cp. Ag. 1589 θανὼν πατρῷον αἱμάξαι πέδον, Pers. 595 αἱμαχθεῖσα δ' ἄρουρα, Eur. H. F. 573 Δίρκης νᾶμα αἱμαχθήσεται. The verse would thus lack the usual caesura; but see on 640, and Introd. p. 26, footnote. - "Αρει : = φόνῳ. – δαμέν- των: sc. αὐτῶν. GMT. 848; H. 972 a. - νυκτιφρουρήτῳ: τῷ νυκτὸς ἐπιτηρή- σαντι, Schol. More exactly night- waking, awake at night. See on 599. αὐχένος καὶ στήθους σφαγή (in ani- mals), Polyaen. viii. 48 τὸ ξίφος καθ- εῖσα διὰ τῆς σφαγῆς, Antonin. Lib- eral. 25 ἐπάταξαν ἑαυτὰς τῇ κερκίδι παρὰ τὴν κλεῖδα καὶ ἀνέρρηξαν τὴν σφαγήν.