Prometheus Bound

Aeschylus

Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922.

  1. Never, oh never,
  2. immortal Fates, may you see me the partner of the bed of Zeus, and may I be wedded to no bridegroom who descends to me from heaven. For I shudder when I behold the loveless maidenhood of Io, cruelly crushed like this
  3. by her toilsome wanderings sent by Hera.
Chorus
  1. When marriage is on equal terms, in my opinion it is no cause for dread; so never may the love of the mightier gods cast on me its irresistible glance. That would indeed be a war that cannot be fought, a source of resourceless misery; and
  2. I do not know what would be my fate, for I do not see how I could escape the designs of Zeus.
Prometheus
  1. Yes, truly, the day will come when Zeus, although stubborn of soul, shall be humbled, seeing that he plans a marriage that shall
  2. hurl him into oblivion from his sovereignty and throne; and then immediately the curse his father Cronus invoked as he fell from his ancient throne, shall be fulfilled to the uttermost. Deliverance from such ruin no one of the gods can show him clearly except me.
  3. I know the fact and the means. So let him sit there in his assurance, putting his trust in the crash reverberating on high and brandishing his fire-breathing bolt in his hands. For these shall not protect him from falling in ignominious and unendurable ruin.
  4. Such an adversary is he now preparing despite himself, a prodigy irresistible, even one who shall discover a flame mightier than the lightning and a deafening crash to outroar the thunder; a prodigy who shall shiver the trident,
  5. Poseidon’s spear, that scourge of the sea and shaker of the land.[*](The poet adopts the legend that Poseidon was a rival with Zeus for the hand of Thetis, of whose son it had been prophesied by Themis that he should be mightier than his father. The prophecy was fulfilled in the person of Peleus’ son, Achilles.)Then, wrecked upon this evil, Zeus shall learn how different it is to be a sovereign and a slave.
Chorus
  1. Surely, it is only your own desire that you utter as a curse against Zeus.
Prometheus
  1. I speak what shall be brought to pass and, moreover, my own desire.
Chorus
  1. Must we really look for one to gain mastery over Zeus?