xxiii. 219) as showing what offerings were employed to soothe or call

up the spirits of the dead. Comp. Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxx.

Footnote 48:

The description obviously gives the state dress of the Persian kings. They alone wore the tiara erect. Xen. _Kyrop._ viii. 3, 13.

Footnote 49:

Either that he has felt the measured tread of the mourners round his tomb, as they went wailing round and round, or that he has heard the rush of armies, and seen the plain tracked by chariot-wheels, and comes, not knowing all these things, to learn what it means.

Footnote 50:

The words point to the widespread belief that when the souls of the dead were permitted to return to the earth, it was with strict limitations as to the time of their leave of absence.

Footnote 51:

Perhaps—“I dread to speak the truth.”

Footnote 52:

According to Herodotos (vii. 225) two brothers of Xerxes fell at Thermopylæ.

Footnote 53:

As Herodotos (viii. 117) tells the story, the bridge had been broken by the tempest before Xerxes reached it.

Footnote 54:

Probably Mardonios and Onomacritos the Athenian soothsayer are referred to, who, according to Herodotos (vii. 6, viii. 99) were the chief instigators of the expedition.

Footnote 55:

Astyages, the father-in-law of Kyaxares and grandfather of Kyros. In this case Æschylos must be supposed to accept Xenophon's statement that Kyaxares succeeded to Astyages. Possibly, however, the Median may be Kyaxares I., the father of Astyages, and so the succession here would harmonise with that of Herodotos. The whole succession must be looked on as embodying the loose, floating notions of the Athenians as to the history of their great enemy, rather than as the result of inquiry.

Footnote 56:

Stress is laid on the violence to which the Asiatic Ionians had succumbed, and their resistance to which distinguished them from the Lydians or Phrygians, whose submission had been voluntary.

Footnote 57:

Mardos. Under this name we recognise the Pseudo-Smerdis of Herodotos (iii. 67), who, by restoring the dominion of the Median Magi, the caste to which he himself belonged, brought shame upon the Persians.

Footnote 58:

Possibly another form of Intaphernes, who appears in Herodotos (iii. 70) as one of the seven conspirators against the Magian Pseudo-Smerdis.

Footnote 59:

The force of 300,000 men left in Greece under Mardonios (Herod. viii. 113), afterwards defeated at Platæa.

Footnote 60:

Comp. the speech of Mardonios urging his plan on Xerxes (Herod. viii. 100).

Footnote 61:

This was of course a popular topic with the Athenians, whose own temples had been outraged. But other sanctuaries also, the temples at Delphi and Abæ, had shared the same fate, and these sins against the Gods of Hellas were naturally connected in the thoughts of the Greeks with the subsequent disasters of the Persians. In Egypt these outrages had an iconoclastic character. In Athens they were a retaliation for the destruction of the temple at Sardis (Herod. v. 102).

Footnote 62:

The reference to the prominent part taken by the Peloponnesian forces in the battle of Platæa is probably due to the political sympathies of the dramatist.

Footnote 63:

The speech of Atossa is rejected by Paley, on internal grounds, as spurious.

Footnote 64:

Apparently an allusion to the oracle given to Crœsos, that he, if he crossed the Halys, should destroy a great kingdom.

Footnote 65:

The name originally given to the Echinades, a group of islands at the mouth of the Acheloös, was applied generically to all islands lying near the mouth of all great rivers, and here, probably, includes Imbros, Thasos, and Samothrakè.

Footnote 66:

The geography is somewhat obscure, but the words seem to refer to the portion of the islands that are named as opposite (in a southerly direction) to the promontory of the Troad.

Footnote 67:

Salamis in Kypros had been colonised by Teukros, the son of Aias, and had received its name in remembrance of the island in the Saronic Gulf.

Footnote 68:

The Mariandynoi, a Paphlagonian tribe, conspicuous for their orgiastic worship of Adonis, had become proverbial for the wildness of their plaintive dirges.

Footnote 69:

The name seems to have been an official title for some Inspector-General of the Army. Comp. Aristoph. _Acharn._ v. 92.

Footnote 70:

As in the account which Herodotos gives (vii. 60) of the way in which the army of Xerxes was numbered, _sc._, by enclosing 10,000 men in a given space, and then filling it again and again till the whole army had passed through.

Footnote 71:

Another reading gives—

“They are buried, they are buried.”

Footnote 72:

Perhaps referring to the waggon-chariots in which the rider reclines at ease, either protected by a canopy, or, as in the Assyrian sculptures and perhaps in the East generally, overshadowed by a large umbrella which an eunuch holds over him.

THE SEVEN WHO FOUGHT AGAINST THEBES

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

ETEOCLES _Scout_ _Herald_ ISMENE ANTIGONE _Chorus of Theban Maidens_

ARGUMENT.—_When Œdipus king of Thebes discovered that he had unknowingly been the murderer of his father, and had lived in incest with his mother, he blinded himself. And his two sons, Eteocles and Polyneikes, wishing to banish the remembrance of these horrors from the eyes of men, at first kept him in confinement. And he, being wroth with them, prayed that they might divide their inheritance with the sword. And they, in fear lest the prayer should be accomplished, agreed to reign in turn, each for a year, and Eteocles, as the elder of the two, took the first turn. But when at the end of the year Polyneikes came to ask for the kingdom, Eteocles refused to give way, and sent him away empty. So Polyneikes went to Argos and married the daughter of Adrastos the king of that country, and gathered together a great army under six great captains, himself going as the seventh, and led it against Thebes. And so they compassed it about, and at each of the seven gates of the city was stationed one of the divisions of the army._

_Note._—_The Seven against Thebes_ appears to have been produced B.C. 472, the year after _The Persians_.

THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES

SCENE.—THEBES _in front of the Acropolis_

_Enter_ ETEOCLES, _and crowd of_ Theban Citizens.

_Eteoc._ Ye citizens of Cadmos, it behoves That one who standeth at the stern of State Guiding the helm, with eyes unclosed in sleep, Should speak the things that meet occasion's need. For should we prosper, God gets all the praise: But if (which God forbid!) disaster falls, Eteocles, much blame on one head falling, Would find his name the by-word of the State,[73] Sung in the slanderous ballads of the town; Yes, and with groanings, which may Zeus the Averter, True to his name, from us Cadmeians turn! But now 'tis meet for all, both him who fails 10 Of full-grown age, and him advanced in years, Yet boasting still a stalwart strength of frame, And each in life's full prime, as it is fit, The State to succour and the altars here Of these our country's Gods, that never more Their votive honours cease,—to help our sons, And Earth, our dearest mother and kind nurse; For she, when young ye crept her kindly plain, Bearing the whole charge of your nourishment, Reared you as denizens that bear the shield, That ye should trusty prove in this her need. 20 And now thus far God turns the scale for us; For unto us, beleaguered these long days, War doth in most things with God's help speed well, But now, as saith the seer, the augur skilled,[74] Watching with ear and mind, apart from fire, The birds oracular with mind unerring, He, lord and master of these prophet-arts, Says that the great attack of the Achæans This very night is talked of, and their plots Devised against the town. But ye, haste all Unto the walls and gateways of the forts; 30 Rush ye full-armed, and fill the outer space, And stand upon the platforms of the towers, And at the entrance of the gates abiding Be of good cheer, nor fear ye overmuch The host of aliens. Well will God work all. And I have sent my scouts and watchers forth, And trust their errand is no fruitless one. I shall not, hearing them, be caught with guile.

[_Exeunt_ Citizens.

_Enter one of the_ Scouts.

_Mess._ King of Cadmeians, great Eteocles, I from the army come with tidings clear, 40 And am myself eye-witness of its acts; For seven brave warriors, leading armèd bands, Cutting a bull's throat o'er a black-rimmed shield, And dipping in the bull's blood with their hands, Swore before Ares, Enyo,[75] murderous Fear, That they would bring destruction on our town, And trample under foot the tower of Cadmos, Or dying, with their own blood stain our soil; And they memorials for their sires at home Placed with their hands upon Adrastos' car,[76] 50 Weeping, but no wail uttering with their lips, For courage iron-hearted breathed out fire In manliness unconquered, as when lions Flash battle from their eyeballs. And report Of these things does not linger on the way. I left them casting lots, that each might take, As the lot fell, his station at the gate. Wherefore do thou our city's chosen ones Array with speed at entrance of the gates; For near already is the Argive host, Marching through clouds of dust, and whitening foam 60 Spots all the plain with drops from horses' mouths. And thou, as prudent helmsman of the ship, Guard thou our fortress ere the blasts of Ares Swoop on it wildly; for there comes the roar Of the land-wave of armies. And do thou Seize for these things the swiftest tide and time; And I, in all that comes, will keep my eye As faithful sentry; so through speech full clear, Thou, knowing all things yonder, shalt be safe.

[_Exit._

_Eteoc._ O Zeus and Earth, and all ye guardian Gods! Thou Curse and strong Erinnys of my sire! 70 Destroy ye not my city root and branch, With sore destruction smitten, one whose voice Is that of Hellas, nor our hearths and homes;[77] Grant that they never hold in yoke of bondage Our country free, and town of Cadmos named; But be ye our defence. I deem I speak Of what concerns us both; for still 'tis true, A prosperous city honours well the Gods. [_Exit._

_Enter Chorus of_ Theban Maidens _in solemn procession as suppliants_

_Chor._ I in wild terror utter cries of woe; An army leaves its camp and is let loose: Hither the vanguard of the horsemen flows, 80 And the thick cloud of dust, That suddenly is seen, Dumb herald, yet full clear, Constrains me to believe; And smitten with the horses' hoofs, the plain Of this my country rings with noise of war; It floats and echoes round, Like voice of mountain torrent dashing down Resistless in its might. Ah Gods! Ah Goddesses! Ward off the coming woe. With battle-shout that rises o'er the walls, The host whose shields are white[78] 90 Marches in full array against our city. Who then, of all the Gods Or Goddesses, will come to help and save? Say, shall I fall before the shrines of Gods? O blessed Ones firm fixed! 'Tis time to clasp your sacred images. Why linger we in wailing overmuch? Hear ye, or hear ye not, the din of shields? When, if not now, shall we Engage in prayer with peplos and with boughs?[79] I hear a mighty sound; it is the din 100 Not of a single spear. O Ares! ancient guardian of our land! What wilt thou do? Wilt thou betray thy land? O God of golden casque, Look on our city, yea, with favour look, The city thou did'st love. And ye, ye Gods who o'er the city rule, Come all of you, come all. Behold the band of maidens suppliant, In fear of bondage foul; For now around the town The wave of warriors bearing slopèd crests, With blasts of Ares rushing, hoarsely sounds: 110 But thou, O Zeus! true father of us all, Ward off, ward off our capture by the foe.

STROPHE I

For Argives now surround the town of Cadmos, And dread of Ares' weapons falls on us; And, bound to horses' mouths, The bits and curbs ring music as of death; And seven chief rulers of the mighty host, With warriors' arms, at each of seven tall gates, Spear-armed and harnessed all, Stand, having cast their lots. · · · · ·

MESODE

And thou, O Zeus-born power in war delighting, 120 O Pallas! be our city's saviour now; And Thou who curb'st the steed, Great King of Ocean's waves, Poseidon, with thy trident fish-spear armed,[80] Give respite from our troubles, respite give! And Thou, O Ares, guard the town that takes Its name from Cadmos old,[81] Watch o'er it visibly.

ANTISTROPHE I

And thou, O Kypris, of our race the mother, Ward off these ills, for we are thine by blood: To thee in many a prayer, 130 With voice that calls upon the Gods we cry, And unto thee draw near as suppliants: And Thou, Lykeian king, Lykeian be,[82] Foe of our hated foes, For this our wailing cry; And Thou, O child of Leto, Artemis, Make ready now thy bow.

STROPHE II

Ah! ah! I hear a din of chariot wheels Around the city walls; O Hera great and dread! The heavy axles of the chariots groan, 140 O Artemis beloved! And the air maddens with the clash of spears; What must our city bear? What now shall come on us? When will God give the end?

ANTISTROPHE II

Ah! ah! a voice of stones is falling fast On battlements attacked;[83] O Lord, Apollo loved, A din of bronze-bound shields is in the gates; And oh! that Zeus may give 150 A faultless issue of this war we wage! And Thou, O blessed queen, As Guardian Onca known,[84] Save thy seven-gated seat.

STROPHE III

And ye, all-working Gods, Of either sex divine, Protectors of our towers, Give not our city, captured by the spear, To host of alien speech.[85] Hear ye our maidens; hear, 160 As is most meet, our prayers with outstretched hands.

ANTISTROPHE III

O all ye loving Powers, Compass our State to save; Show how that State ye love; Think on our public votive offerings, And as ye think, oh, help: Be mindful ye, I pray, Of all our city's rites of sacrifice.

_Re-enter_ ETEOCLES

_Eteoc._ (_to the Chorus_) I ask you, O ye brood intolerable, Is this course best and safest for our city? 170 Will it give heart to our beleaguered host, That ye before the forms of guardian Gods Should wail and howl, ye loathèd of the wise;[86] Ne'er be it mine, in ill estate or good, To dwell together with the race of women; For when they rule, their daring bars approach, And when they fear, alike to house and State Comes greater ill; and now with these your rushings Hither and thither, ye have troubled sore Our subjects with a coward want of heart; And do your best for those our foes without; 180 And we are harassed by ourselves within. This comes to one who dwells with womankind. And if there be that will not own my sway, Or man or woman in their prime, or those Who can be classed with neither, they shall take Their trial for their life, nor shall they 'scape The fate of stoning. Things outdoors are still The man's to look to: let not woman counsel. Stay thou within, and do no mischief more. Hear'st thou, or no? or speak I to the deaf?

STROPHE I

_Chor._ Dear son of Œdipus, 190 I shuddered as I heard the din, the din Of many a chariot's noise, When on the axles creaked the whirling wheels, *And when I heard the sound *Of fire-wrought curbs within the horses' mouths.

_Eteoc._ What then? Did ever yet the sailor flee From stern to stem, and find deliverance so, While his ship laboured in the ocean's wave?[87]

ANTISTROPHE I

_Chor._ Nay, to the ancient forms Of mighty Powers I rushed, as trusting Gods; And when behind the gates Was heard the crash of fierce and pelting storm, 200 Then was it, in my fear, I prayed the Blessed Ones to guard our city.

_Eteoc._ Pray that our towns hold out 'gainst spear of foes.[88]

_Chor._ Do not the Gods grant these things?

_Eteoc._ Nay the Gods, So say they, leave the captured city's walls.[89]

STROPHE II

_Chor._ Ah! never in my life May all this goodly company of Gods Depart; nor may I see This city scene of rushings to and fro, 210 *And hostile army burning it with fire!

_Eteoc._ Nay, call not on the Gods with counsel base; Obedience is the mother of success, Child strong to save. 'Tis thus the saying runs.

ANTISTROPHE II

_Chor._ True is it; but the Gods Have yet a mightier power, and oftentimes, In pressure of sore ill, It raises one perplexed from direst woe, When dark clouds gather thickly o'er his eyes.

_Eteoc._ 'Tis work of men to offer sacrifice And victims to the Gods, when foes press hard; 220 Thine to be dumb and keep within the house.

STROPHE III

_Chor._ 'Tis through the Gods we live In city unsubdued, and that our towers Ward off the multitude of jealous foes. What Power will grudge us this?

_Eteoc._ I grudge not your devotion to the Gods; But lest you make my citizens faint-hearted Be tranquil, nor to fear's excess give way.

ANTISTROPHE III

_Chor._ Hearing but now a din Strange, wildly mingled, I with shrinking fear Here to our city's high Acropolis, Time-hallowed spot, have come. 230

_Eteoc._ Nay, if ye hear of wounded men or dying, Bear them not swiftly off with wailing loud; *For blood of men is Ares' chosen food.[90]

_Chor._ Hark! now I hear the panting of the steeds.

_Eteoc._ Clear though thou hear, yet hear not overmuch.

_Chor._ Lo! from its depths the fortress groans, beleaguered.

_Eteoc._ It is enough that I provide for this.

_Chor._ I fear: the din increases at the gates.

_Eteoc._ Be still, say nought of these things in the city.

_Chor._ O holy Band![91] desert ye not our towers. 240

_Eteoc._ A curse fall on thee! wilt thou not be still?

_Chor._ Gods of my city, from the slave's lot save me!

_Eteoc._ 'Tis thou enslav'st thyself and all thy city.

_Chor._ Oh, turn thy darts, great Zeus, against our foes!

_Eteoc._ Oh, Zeus, what race of women thou hast given us!

_Chor._ A sorry race, like men whose city falls.

_Eteoc._ What? Cling to these statues, yet speak words of ill?

_Chor._ Fear hurries on my tongue in want of courage.

_Eteoc._ Could'st thou but grant one small boon at my prayer!250

_Chor._ Speak it out quickly, and I soon shall know.

_Eteoc._ Be still, poor fool, and frighten not thy friends.

_Chor._ Still am I, and with others bear our fate.

_Eteoc._ These words of thine I much prefer to those: And further, though no longer at the shrines, Pray thou for victory, that the Gods fight with us. And when my prayers thou hearest, then do thou Raise a loud, welcome, holy pæan-shout, The Hellenes' wonted cry at sacrifice; So cheer thy friends, and check their fear of foes; And I unto our country's guardian Gods, 260 Who hold the plain or watch the agora, The springs of Dirkè, and Ismenos' stream;— If things go well, and this our city's saved,— I vow that staining with the blood of sheep The altar-hearths of Gods, or slaying bulls, We'll fix our trophies, and our foemen's robes On the spear's point on consecrated walls, Before the shrines I'll hang.[92] Pray thou this prayer, Not weakly wailing, nor with vain wild sobs, For no whit more thou'lt 'scape thy destined lot: 270 And I six warriors, with myself as seventh, Against our foes in full state like their own, Will station at the seven gates' entrances, Ere hurrying heralds and swift-rushing words Come and inflame them in the stress of need. [_Exit_

STROPHE I

_Chor._ My heart is full of care and knows not sleep, By panic fear o'ercome; And troubles throng my soul, And set a-glow my dread Of the great host encamped around our walls, As when a trembling dove Fears, for her callow brood, 280 The snakes that come, ill mates for her soft nest; For some upon our towers March in full strength of mingled multitude; And what will me befall? And others on our men on either hand Hurl rugged blocks of stone. In every way, ye Zeus-born Gods, defend 290 The city and the host That Cadmos claim as sire.

ANTISTROPHE I

What better land will ye receive for this, If ye to foes resign This rich and fertile clime, And that Dirkæan stream, Goodliest of founts by great Poseidon sent, Who circleth earth, or those Who Tethys parent call?[93] 300 And therefore, O ye Gods that guard our city, Sending on those without Our towers a woe that robs men of their life, And makes them lose their shield, Gain glory for these countrymen of mine; And take your standing-ground, As saviours of the city, firm and true, In answer to our cry Of wailing and of prayer.

STROPHE II

For sad it were to hurl to Hades dark A city of old fame, 310 The spoil and prey of war, With foulest shame in dust and ashes laid, By an Achæan foe at God's decree; And that our women, old and young alike, Be dragged away, ah me! Like horses, by their hair Their robes torn off from them. And lo, the city wails, made desolate, While with confusèd cry 320 The wretched prisoners meet doom worse than death. Ah, at this grievous fate I shudder ere it comes.

ANTISTROPHE II

And piteous 'tis for those whose youth is fresh Before the rites that cull Their fair and first-ripe fruit, To take a hateful journey from their homes. Nay, but I say the dead far better fare Than these, for when a city is subdued It bears full many an ill. This man takes prisoner that, 330 Or slays, or burns with fire; And all the city is defiled with smoke, And Ares fans the flame In wildest rage, and laying many low, Tramples with foot unclean On all men sacred hold.

STROPHE III

And hollow din is heard throughout the town, Hemmed in by net of towers; And man by man is slaughtered with the spear, And cries of bleeding babes, Of children at the breast, 340 Are heard in piteous wail, And rapine, sister of the plunderer's rush, Spoiler with spoiler meets, And empty-handed empty-handed calls, Wishing for share of gain, Both eager for a portion no whit less, For more than equal lot With what they deem the others' hands have found.

ANTISTROPHE III

And all earth's fruits cast wildly on the ground, 350 Meeting the cheerless eye Of frugal housewives, give them pain of heart; And many a gift of earth In formless heaps is whirled In waves of nothingness; And the young maidens know a sorrow new; For now the foe prevails, And gains rich prize of wretched captive's bed; 360 And now their only hope Is that the night of death will come at last, Their truest, best ally, To rescue them from sorrow fraught with tears.

_Enter_ ETEOCLES, _followed by his_ Chief Captains, _and by the_ Scout

_Semi-Chor. A._ The army scout, so deem I, brings to us, Dear friends, some tidings new, with quickest speed Plying the nimble axles of his feet.

_Semi-Chor. B._ Yea, the king's self, the son of Œdipus, Is nigh to hear the scout's exact report; And haste denies him too an even step.

_Mess._ I knowing well, will our foes' state report, 370 How each his lot hath stationed at the gates. At those of Prœtos, Tydeus thunders loud, And him the prophet suffers not to cross Ismenos' fords, the victims boding ill.[94] And Tydeus, raging eager for the fight, Shouts like a serpent in its noontide scream, And on the prophet, Œcleus' son, heaps shame, That he, in coward fear, doth crouch and fawn Before the doom and peril of the fight. And with such speech he shakes his triple crest, O'ershadowing all his helm, and 'neath his shield 380 Bells wrought in bronze ring out their chimes of fear; And on his shield he bears this proud device,— A firmament enchased, all bright with stars;[95] And in the midst the full moon's glittering orb, Sovran of stars and eye of Night, shines forth. And thus exulting in o'er boastful arms, By the stream's bank he shouts in lust of war, [E'en as a war-horse panting in his strength Against the curb that galls him, who at sound Of trumpet's clang chafes hotly.] Whom wilt thou Set against him? Who is there strong enough When the bolts yield, to guard the Prœtan gates? 390

_Eteoc._ No fear have I of any man's array; Devices have no power to pierce or wound, And crest and bells bite not without a spear; And for this picture of the heavens at night, Of which thou tellest, glittering on his shield, *Perchance his madness may a prophet prove; For if night fall upon his dying eyes, Then for the man who bears that boastful sign It may right well be all too truly named, 400 And his own pride shall prophet be of ill. And against Tydeus, to defend the gates, I'll set this valiant son of Astacos; Noble is he, and honouring well the throne Of Reverence, and hating vaunting speech, Slow to all baseness, unattuned to ill: And of the dragon-race that Ares spared[96] He as a scion grows, a native true, E'en Melanippos; Ares soon will test His valour in the hazard of the die: And kindred Justice sends him forth to war, For her that bore him foeman's spear to check. 410

STROPHE I

_Chor._ May the Gods grant my champion good success! For justly he goes forth For this our State to fight; But yet I quake with fear To see the deaths of those who die for friends.

_Mess._ Yea, may the Gods give good success to him! The Electran gates have fallen to Capaneus, A second giant, taller far than he Just named, with boast above a mortal's bounds; And dread his threats against our towers (O Fortune, 420 Turn them aside!)—for whether God doth will, Or willeth not, he says that he will sack[97] The city, nor shall e'en the wrath of Zeus, On the plain swooping, turn him from his will; And the dread lightnings and hot thunderbolts He likens to the heat of noon-day sun. And his device, the naked form of one Who bears a torch; and bright the blaze shines forth And in gold characters he speaks the words, “THE CITY I WILL BURN.” Against this man Send forth ... but who will meet him in the fight? 430 Who, without fear, await this warrior proud?

_Eteoc._ Herein, too, profit upon profit comes; And 'gainst the vain and boastful thoughts of men, Their tongue itself is found accuser true. Threatening, equipped for work is Capaneus, Scorning the Gods: and giving speech full play, And in wild joy, though mortal, vents at Zeus, High in the heavens, loud-spoken foaming words. And well I trust on him shall rightly come Fire-bearing thunder, nothing likened then To heat of noon-day sun. And so 'gainst him, 440 Though very bold of speech, a man is set Of fiery temper, Polyphontes strong, A trusty bulwark, by the loving grace Of guardian Artemis[98] and other Gods. Describe another, placed at other gates.

ANTISTROPHE I

_Chor._ A curse on him who 'gainst our city boasts! May thunder smite him down 450 Before he force his way Into my home, and drive Me from my maiden bower with haughty spear?

_Mess._ And now I'll tell of him who by the gates Stands next; for to Eteocles, as third, To march his cohort to Neïstian gates, Leaped the third lot from upturned brazen helm: And he his mares, in head-gear snorting, whirls, Full eager at the gates to fall and die; Their whistling nozzles of barbaric mode, Are filled with loud blast of the panting nostrils.[99] In no poor fashion is his shield devised; 460 A full-armed warrior climbs a ladder's rungs, And mounts his foeman's towers as bent to sack; And he too cries, in words of written speech, That “NOT E'EN ARES FROM THE TOWERS SHALL DRIVE HIM.” Send thou against him some defender true, To ward the yoke of bondage from our State.

_Eteoc._ Such would I send now; by good luck indeed He has been sent, his vaunting in his deeds, Megareus, Creon's son, who claims descent From those as Sparti known, and not by noise Of neighings loud of warlike steeds dismayed, 470 Will he the gates abandon, but in death Will pay our land his nurture's debt in full,[100] Or taking two men, and a town to boot, (That on the shield,) will deck his father's house With those his trophies. Of another tell The bragging tale, nor grudge thy words to me.

STROPHE II

_Chor._ Him I wish good success, O guardian of my home, and for his foes All ill success I pray; And since against our land their haughty words With maddened soul they speak, May Zeus, the sovran judge, With fiery, hot displeasure look on them! 480

_Mess._ Another stands as fourth at gates hard by, Onca-Athenà's, with a shout of war, Hippomedon's great form and massive limbs; And as he whirled his orb, his vast shield's disk, I shuddered; yea, no idle words I speak. No cheap and common draughtsman sure was he Who wrought this cunning ensign on his shield: Typhon emitting from his lips hot blast Of darkling smoke, the flickering twin of fire: And round the belly of the hollow shield A rim was made with wreaths of twisted snakes. 490 And he too shouts his war-cry, and in frenzy, As man possessed by Ares, hastes to battle, Like Thyiad, darting terror from his eyes.[101] 'Gainst such a hero's might we well may guard; Already at the gates men brag of rout.

_Eteoc._ First, the great Onca-Pallas, dwelling nigh Our city's gates, and hating man's bold pride, Shall ward him from her nestlings like a snake Of venom dread; and next Hyperbios, The stalwart son of Œnops, has been chosen, 500 A hero 'gainst this hero, willing found To try his destiny at Fortune's hest. No fault has he in form, or heart, or arms; And Hermes with good reason pairs them off; For man with man will fight as enemy, And on their shields they'll bring opposing Gods; For this man beareth Typhon, breathing fire, And on Hyperbios' shield sits father Zeus, Full firm, with burning thunderbolt in hand; And never yet has man seen Zeus, I trow, O'ercome. Such then the favour of the Gods, 510 We with the winners, they with losers are:[102] Good reason then the rivals so should fare, If Zeus than Typhon stronger be in fight, And to Hyperbios Zeus will saviour prove, As that device upon his shield presents him.

ANTISTROPHE II

_Chor._ Now do I trust that he Who bears upon his shield the hated form Of Power whom Earth doth shroud, Antagonist to Zeus, unloved by men And by the ageless Gods, Before those gates of ours To his own hurt may dash his haughty head. 520

_Mess._ So may it be! And now the fifth I tell, Who the fifth gates, the Northern, occupies, Hard by Amphion's tomb, the son of Zeus; And by his spear he swears, (which he is bold To honour more than God or his own eyes,) That he will sack the fort of the Cadmeians With that spear's might. So speaks the offspring fair Of mother mountain-bred, a stripling hero; And the soft down is creeping o'er his cheeks, 530 Youth's growth, and hair that floweth full and thick; And he with soul, not maiden's like his name,[103] But stern, with flashing eye, is standing there. Nor stands he at the gate without a vaunt; For on his brass-wrought buckler, strong defence, Full-orbed, his body guarding, he the shame Of this our city bears, the ravenous Sphinx, With rivets fixed, all burnished and embossed;[104] And under her she holdeth a Cadmeian, That so on him most arrows might be shot. No chance that he will fight a peddling fight, 540 Nor shame the long, long journey he hath come, Parthenopæos, in Arcadia born: This man did Argos welcome as a guest, And now he pays her for her goodly rearing, And threatens these our towers with ... God avert it!

_Eteoc._ Should the Gods give them what they plan 'gainst us, Then they, with those their godless boastings high, Would perish shamefully and utterly. And for this man of Arcady thou tell'st of, We have a man who boasts not, but his hand Sees the right thing to do;—Actôr, of him 550 I named but now the brother,—who no tongue Divorced from deeds will ever let within Our gates, to spread and multiply our ills, Nor him who bears upon his foeman's shield The image of the hateful venomed beast; But she without shall blame him as he tries To take her in, when she beneath our walls Gets sorely bruised and battered.[105] And herein, If the Gods will, I prophet true shall prove.

STROPHE III

_Chor._ Thy words thrill through my breast; My hair stands all on end, To hear the boastings great Of those who speak great things 560 Unholy. May the Gods Destroy them in our land!

_Mess._ A sixth I tell of, one of noblest mood, Amphiaraos, seer and warrior famed; He, stationed at the Homolôian gates, Reproves the mighty Tydeus with sharp words As 'murderer,' and 'troubler of the State,'[106] 'To Argos teacher of all direst ills, Erinnys' sumpnour,'[107] 'murder's minister,' 570 Whose counsels led Adrastos to these ills. *And at thy brother Polyneikes glancing With eyes uplifted for his father's fate, And ending, twice he syllabled his name,[108] And called him, and thus speaketh with his lips:— “A goodly deed, and pleasant to the Gods, Noble for after age to hear and tell, Thy father's city and thy country's Gods To waste through might of mercenary host! And how shall Justice stay thy mother's tears?[109] 580 And how, when conquered, shall thy fatherland, Laid waste, become a true ally to thee? As for myself, I shall that land make rich,[110] A prophet buried in a foeman's soil: To arms! I look for no inglorious death.” So spake the prophet, bearing full-orbed shield Wrought all of bronze, no ensign on that orb. He wishes to be just, and not to seem,[111] Reaping full harvest from his soul's deep furrows, Whence ever new and noble counsels spring. 590 I bid thee send defenders wise and brave Against him. Dread is he who fears the Gods.

_Eteoc._ Fie on the chance that brings the righteous man Close-mated with the ungodly! In all deeds Nought is there worse than evil fellowship, A crop men should not reap. Death still is found The harvest of the field of frenzied pride; For either hath the godly man embarked With sailors hot in insolence and guile,[112] And perished with the race the Gods did loathe; 600 Or just himself, with citizens who wrong The stranger and are heedless of the Gods, Falling most justly in the self-same snare, By God's scourge smitten, shares the common doom. And thus this seer I speak of, Œcleus' son, Righteous, and wise, and good, and reverent, A mighty prophet, mingling with the godless *And men full bold of speech in reason's spite, Who take long march to reach a far-off city,[113] If Zeus so will, shall be hurled down with them. 610 And he, I trow, shall not draw nigh the gates, Not through faint-heart or any vice of mood, But well he knows this war shall bring his death, If any fruit is found in Loxias' words; And He or holds his speech or speaks in season. Yet against him the hero Lasthenes, A foe of strangers, at the gates we'll set; Old in his mind, his body in its prime, His eye swift-footed, and his hand not slow To grasp the spear from 'neath the shield laid bare:[114] 620 Yet 'tis by God's gift men must win success.

ANTISTROPHE III

_Chor._ Hear, O ye Gods! our prayers, Our just entreaties grant, That so our State be blest. Turn ye the toils of war Upon the invading host. Outside the walls may Zeus With thunder smite them low!

_Mess._ The seventh chief then who at the seventh gate stands, Thine own, own brother, I will speak of now, What curses on our State he pours, and prays 630 That he the towers ascending, and proclaimed By herald's voice to all the territory, And shouting out the captor's pæan-cry, May so fight with thee, slay, and with thee die; Or driving thee alive, who did'st him wrong, May on thee a vengeance wreak like in kind. So clamours he, and bids his father's Gods, His country's guardians, look upon his prayers, [And grant them all. So Polyneikes prays.] And he a new and well-wrought shield doth bear, And twofold sign upon it riveted; 640 For there a woman with a stately tread Leads one who seems a warrior wrought in gold: Justice she calls herself, and thus she speaks: “I WILL BRING BACK THIS MAN, AND HE SHALL HAVE THE CITY AND HIS FATHER'S DWELLING-PLACE.” Such are the signs and mottoes of those men; And thou, know well whom thou dost mean to send: So thou shalt never blame my heraldings; And thou thyself know how to steer the State.

_Eteoc._ O frenzy-stricken, hated sore of Gods! 650 O woe-fraught race (my race!) of Œdipus! Ah me! my father's curse is now fulfilled; But neither is it meet to weep or wail, Lest cry more grievous on the issue come. Of Polyneikes, name and omen true, We soon shall know what way his badge shall end, Whether his gold-wrought letters shall restore him, His shield's great swelling words with frenzied soul. An if great Justice, Zeus's virgin child, Ruled o'er his words and acts, this might have been; 660 But neither when he left his mother's womb, Nor in his youth, nor yet in ripening age, Nor when his beard was gathered on his chin, Did Justice count him meet for fellowship; Nor do I think that she befriends him now In this great outrage on his father's land. Yea, justly Justice would as falsely named Be known, if she with one all-daring joined. In this I trust, and I myself will face him: Who else could claim a greater right than I? 670 Brother with brother fighting, king with king, And foe with foe, I'll stand. Come, quickly fetch My greaves that guard against the spear and stones.

_Chor._ Nay, dearest friend, thou son of Œdipus, Be ye not like to him with that ill name. It is enough Cadmeian men should fight Against the Argives. That blood may be cleansed; But death so murderous of two brothers born, This is pollution that will ne'er wax old.

_Eteoc._ If a man must bear evil, let him still 680 Be without shame—sole profit that in death. [No glory comes of base and evil deeds].

_Chor._ What dost thou crave, my son? Let no ill fate, Frenzied and hot for war, Carry thee headlong on; Check the first onset of an evil lust.

_Eteoc._ Since God so hotly urges on the matter, Let all of Laios' race whom Phœbos hates, Drift with the breeze upon Cokytos' wave.

_Chor._ An over-fierce and passionate desire Stirs thee and pricks thee on To work an evil deed Of guilt of blood thy hand should never shed. 690

_Eteoc._ Nay, my dear father's curse, in full-grown hate, Dwells on dry eyes that cannot shed a tear, And speaks of gain before the after-doom.

_Chor._ But be not thou urged on. The coward's name Shall not be thine, for thou Hast ordered well thy life. Dark-robed Erinnys enters not the house, When at men's hands the Gods Accept their sacrifice.

_Eteoc._ As for the Gods, they scorned us long ago, And smile but on the offering of our deaths; 700 What boots it then on death's doom still to fawn?

_Chor._ Nay do it now, while yet 'tis in thy power;[115] Perchance may fortune shift With tardy change of mood, And come with spirit less implacable: At present fierce and hot She waxeth in her rage.

_Eteoc._ Yea, fierce and hot the Curse of Œdipus; And all too true the visions of the night, My father's treasured store distributing.

_Chor._ Yield to us women, though thou lov'st us not.

_Eteoc._ Speak then what may be done, and be not long. 710

_Chor._ Tread not the path that to the seventh gate leads.

_Eteoc._ Thou shall not blunt my sharpened edge with words.

_Chor._ And yet God loves the victory that submits.[116]

_Eteoc._ That word a warrior must not tolerate.

_Chor._ Dost thou then haste thy brother's blood to shed?

_Eteoc._ If the Gods grant it, he shall not 'scape harm.

[_Exeunt_ ETEOCLES, Scout, _and_ Captains

STROPHE I

_Chor._ I fear her might who doth this whole house wreck, The Goddess unlike Gods, The prophetess of evil all too true, The Erinnys of thy father's imprecations, 720 Lest she fulfil the curse, O'er-wrathful, frenzy-fraught, The curse of Œdipus, Laying his children low. This Strife doth urge them on.

ANTISTROPHE I

And now a stranger doth divide the lots, The Chalyb,[117] from the Skythians emigrant, The stern distributor of heaped-up wealth, The iron that hath assigned them just so much Of land as theirs, no more, As may suffice for them As grave when they shall fall, Without or part or lot In the broad-spreading plains. 730

STROPHE II

And when the hands of each The other's blood have shed, And the earth's dust shall drink The black and clotted gore, Who then can purify? Who cleanse thee from the guilt? Ah me! O sorrows new, That mingle with the old woes of our house!

ANTISTROPHE II

I tell the ancient tale Of sin that brought swift doom; 740 Till the third age it waits, Since Laios, heeding not Apollo's oracle, (Though spoken thrice to him In Pythia's central shrine,) That dying childless, he should save the State.

STROPHE III

But he by those he loved full rashly swayed, Doom for himself begat, His murderer Œdipus, 750 Who dared to sow in field Unholy, whence he sprang, A root of blood-flecked woe. Madness together brought Bridegroom and bride accursed.

ANTISTROPHE III

And now the sea of evil pours its flood: This falling, others rise, As with a triple crest, Which round the State's stern roars: And but a bulwark slight, A tower's poor breadth, defends: 760 And lest the city fall With its two kings I fear.

STROPHE IV

*And that atonement of the ancient curse Receives fulfilment now;[118] *And when they come, the evils pass not by. E'en so the wealth of sea-adventurers, When heaped up in excess, Leads but to cargo from the stern thrown out.[119]

ANTISTROPHE IV

For whom of mortals did the Gods so praise, And fellow-worshippers, 770 *And race of those who feed their flocks and herds[120] As much as then they honoured Œdipus, Who from our country's bounds Had driven the monster, murderess of men?

STROPHE V

And when too late he knew, Ah, miserable man! his wedlock dire, Vexed sore with that dread shame, With heart to madness driven, He wrought a twofold ill, And with the hand that smote his father's life 780 *Blinded the eyes that might his sons have seen.

ANTISTROPHE V

And with a mind provoked By nurture scant, he at his sons did hurl[121] His curses dire and dark, (Ah, bitter curses those!) That they with spear in hand Should one day share their father's wealth; and I Fear now lest swift Erinnys should fulfil them.

_Enter_ Messenger

_Mess._ Be of good cheer, ye maidens, mother-reared; Our city has escaped the yoke of bondage, 790 The boasts of mighty men are fallen low, And this our city in calm waters floats, And, though by waves lashed, springs not any leak. Our fortress still holds out, and we did guard The gates with champions who redeemed their pledge. In the six gateways almost all goes well; But the seventh gate did King Apollo choose,[122] Seventh mighty chief, avenging Laios' want Of counsel on the sons of Œdipus.

_Chor._ What new disaster happens to our city?[123] 800

_Mess._ The city's saved, but both the royal brothers,...

_Chor._ Who? and what of them? I'm distraught with fear.

_Mess._ Be calm, and hear: the sons of Œdipus,...

_Chor._ Oh wretched me! a prophet I of ill!

_Mess._ Slain by each other, earth has drunk their blood.

_Chor._ Came they to that? 'Tis dire; yet tell it me.

_Mess._ Too true, by brother's hand our chiefs are slain.

_Chor._ What, did the brother's hands the brother lay?

_Mess._ No doubt is there that they are laid in dust.

_Chor._ Thus was there then a common fate for both?

_Mess._ *Yea, it lays low the whole ill-fated race.

_Chor._ These things give cause for gladness and for tears, 810 Seeing that our city prospers, and our lords, The generals twain, with well-wrought Skythian steel, Have shared between them all their store of goods, And now shall have their portion in a grave, Borne on, as spake their father's grievous curse.[124]

_Mess._ [The city's saved, but of the brother-kings The earth has drunk the blood, each slain by each.]

_Chor._ Great Zeus! and ye, O Gods! Guardians of this our town, Who save in very deed The towers of Cadmos old, 820 Shall I rejoice and shout Over the happy chance That frees our State from harm; Or weep that ill-starred pair, The war-chiefs, childless and most miserable, Who, true to that ill name Of Polyneikes, died in impious mood, Contending overmuch?

STROPHE

Oh dark, and all too true That curse of Œdipus and all his race,[125] An evil chill is falling on my heart, 830 And, like a Thyiad wild, Over his grave I sing a dirge of grief, Hearing the dead have died by evil fate, Each in foul bloodshed steeped; Ah me! Ill-omened is the spear's accord.[126]

ANTISTROPHE

It hath wrought out its end, And hath not failed, that prayer the father poured; And Laios' reckless counsels work till now: I fear me for the State; The oracles have not yet lost their edge; 840 O men of many sorrows, ye have wrought This deed incredible; Not now in word come woes most lamentable.

[_As the Chorus are speaking, the bodies of_ ETEOCLES _and_ POLYNEIKES _are brought in solemn procession by_ Theban Citizens

EPODE

Yea, it is all too clear, The herald's tale of woe comes full in sight; Twofold our cares, twin evils born of pride, Murderous, with double doom, Wrought unto full completeness all these ills. What shall I say? What else Are they than woes that make this house their home? But oh! my friends, ply, ply with swift, strong gale, That even stroke of hands upon your head,[127] 850 In funeral order, such as evermore O'er Acheron sends on *That bark of State, dark-rigged, accursed its voyage, Which nor Apollo visits nor the sun,[128] On to the shore unseen, The resting-place of all.

[ISMENE _and_ ANTIGONE _are seen approaching in mourning garments, followed by a procession of women wailing and lamenting_

For see, they come to bitter deed called forth, Ismene and the maid Antigone, To wail their brothers' fall; With little doubt I deem, That they will pour from fond, deep-bosomed breasts A worthy strain of grief: But it is meet that we, Before we hear their cry, 860 Should utter the harsh hymn Erinnys loves, And sing to Hades dark The Pæan of distress. O ye, most evil-fated in your kin, Of all who guard their robes with maiden's band, I weep and wail, and feigning know I none, That I should fail to speak My sorrow from my heart.

STROPHE I

_Semi-Chor. A._ Alas! alas! Men of stern mood, who would not list to friends, Unwearied in all ills, 870 Seizing your father's house, O wretched ones With the spear's murderous point.

_Semi-Chor. B._ Yea, wretched they who found a wretched doom, With havoc of the house.

ANTISTROPHE I

_Semi-Chor. A._ Alas! alas! Ye who laid low the ancient walls of home, On sovereignty, ill won, Your eyes have looked, and ye at last are brought To concord by the sword.

_Semi-Chor. B._ Yea, of a truth, the curse of Œdipus 880 Erinnys dread fulfils.

STROPHE II

_Semi-Chor. A._ Yea, smitten through the heart, Smitten through sides where flowed the blood of brothers. Ah me! ye doomed of God! Ah me! the curses dire Of deaths ye met with each at other's hands!

_Semi-Chor. B._ Thou tell'st of men death-smitten through and through, Both in their homes and lives, With wrath beyond all speech, 890 And doom of discord fell, That sprang from out the curse their father spake.

ANTISTROPHE II

_Semi-Chor. A._ Yea, through the city runs A wailing cry. The high towers wail aloud; Wails all the plain that loves her heroes well; And to their children's sons The wealth will go for which The strife of those ill-starred ones brought forth death.

_Semi-Chor. B._ Quick to resent, they shared their fortune so, That each like portion won; *Nor can their friends regard Their umpire without blame; 900 Nor is our voice in thanks to Ares raised.

STROPHE III

_Semi-Chor. A._ By the sword smitten low, Thus are they now; By the sword smitten low, There wait them ... Nay, Doth one perchance ask what? Shares in their old ancestral sepulchres.

_Semi-Chor. B._ *The sorrow of the house is borne to them By my heart-rending wail. Mine own the cries I pour; Mine own the woes I weep, Bitter and joyless, shedding truest tears 910 From heart that faileth, even as they fall, For these two kingly chiefs.

ANTISTROPHE III

_Semi-Chor. A._ Yes; one may say of them, That wretched pair, That they much ill have wrought To their own host; Yea, and to alien ranks Of many nations fallen in the fray.

_Semi-Chor._ B. Ah! miserable she who bare those twain, 'Bove all of women born Who boast a mother's name! 920 Taking her son, her own, As spouse, she bare these children, and they both, By mutual slaughter and by brothers' hands, Have found their end in death.

STROPHE IV

_Semi-Chor. A._ Yes; of the same womb born, and doomèd both, *Not as friends part, they fell, In strife to madness pushed In this their quarrel's end.

_Semi-Chor. B._ The quarrel now is hushed, And in the ensanguined earth their lives are blent; 930 Full near in blood are they. Stern umpire of their strifes Has been the stranger from beyond the sea,[129] Fresh from the furnace, keen and sharpened steel. Stern, too, is Ares found, Distributing their goods, Making their father's curses all too true.

ANTISTROPHE IV

_Semi-Chor. A._ At last they have their share, ah, wretched ones! Of burdens sent from God. 940 And now beneath them lies A boundless wealth of——earth.

_Semi-Chor. B._ O ye who your own race Have made to burgeon out with many woes! Over the end at last The brood of Curses raise Their shrill, sharp cry of lamentation loud, The race being put to flight of utmost rout, And Atè's trophy stands, Where in the gates they fell; And Fate, now both are conquered, rests at last. 950

_Enter_ ANTIGONE _and_ ISMENE, _followed by mourning maidens_[130]

_Ant._ Thou wast smitten, and thou smotest.

_Ism._ Thou did'st slaughter, and wast slaughtered.

_Ant._ Thou with spear to death did'st smite him.

_Ism._ Thou with spear to death wast smitten.

_Ant._ Oh, the woe of all your labours!

_Ism._ Oh, the woe of all ye suffered!

_Ant._ Pour the cry of lamentation.

_Ism._ Pour the tears of bitter weeping.

_Ant._ There in death thou liest prostrate.

_Ism._ Having wrought a great destruction.

STROPHE

_Ant._ Ah! my mind is crazed with wailing. 960

_Ism._ Yea, my heart within me groaneth.

_Ant._ Thou for whom the city weepeth!

_Ism._ Thou too, doomed to all ill-fortune!

_Ant._ By a loved hand thou hast perished.

_Ism._ And a loved form thou hast slaughtered.

_Ant._ Double woes are ours to tell of.

_Ism._ Double woes too ours to look on.

_Ant._ *Twofold sorrows from near kindred.

_Ism._ *Sisters we by brothers standing.

_Ant._ Terrible are they to tell of. 970

_Ism._ Terrible are they to look on.

_Chor._ Ah me, thou Destiny, Giver of evil gifts, and working woe, And thou dread spectral form of Œdipus, And swarth Erinnys too, A mighty one art thou.

ANTISTROPHE

_Ant._ Ah me! ah me! woes dread to look on....

_Ism._ Ye showed to me, returned from exile.

_Ant._ Not, when he had slain, returned he.

_Ism._ Nay, he, saved from exile, perished. 980

_Ant._ Yea, I trow too well, he perished.

_Ism._ And his brother, too, he murdered.

_Ant._ Woeful, piteous, are those brothers!

_Ism._ Woeful, piteous, all they suffered!

_Ant._ Woes of kindred wrath enkindling!

_Ism._ Saturate with threefold horrors!

_Ant._ Terrible are they to tell of.

_Ism._ Terrible are they to look on.

_Chor._ Ah me, thou Destiny, Giver of evil gifts, and stern of soul, And thou dread spectral form of Œdipus, 990 And swarth Erinnys too, A mighty one art thou.

EPODE

_Ant._ Thou, then, by full trial knowest....

_Ism._ Thou, too, no whit later learning....

_Ant._ When thou cam'st back to this city[131]....

_Ism._ Rival to our chief in warfare.

_Ant._ Woe, alas! for all our troubles!

_Ism._ Woe, alas! for all our evils!

_Ant._ Evils fallen on our houses!

_Ism._ Evils fallen on our country!

_Ant._ And on me before all others....

_Ism._ And to me the future waiting.... 1000

_Ant._ Woe for those two brothers luckless!

_Ism._ King Eteocles, our leader!

_Ant._ Oh, before all others wretched!

_Ism._ . . . . .

_Ant._ Ah, by Atè frenzy-stricken!

_Ism._ Ah, where now shall they be buried?

_Ant._ There where grave is highest honour.

_Ism._ Ah, the woe my father wedded!

_Enter a_ Herald

_Her._ 'Tis mine the judgment and decrees to publish Of this Cadmeian city's counsellors: It is decreed Eteocles to honour, For his good-will towards this land of ours, 1010 With seemly burial, such as friend may claim; For warding off our foes he courted death; Pure as regards his country's holy things, Blameless he died where death the young beseems; This then I'm ordered to proclaim of him. But for his brother's, Polyneikes' corpse, To cast it out unburied, prey for dogs, As working havoc on Cadmeian land, Unless some God had hindered by the spear Of this our prince;[132] and he, though, dead, shall gain 1020 The curse of all his father's Gods, whom he

[_Pointing to_ POLYNEIKES

With alien host dishonouring, sought to take Our city. Him by ravenous birds interred Ingloriously, they sentence to receive His full deserts; and none may take in hand To heap up there a tomb, nor honour him With shrill-voiced wailings; but he still must lie, Without the meed of burial by his friends. So do the high Cadmeian powers decree.

_Ant._ And I those rulers of Cadmeians tell,[133] 1030 That if no other care to bury him, I will inter him, facing all the risk, Burying my brother: nor am I ashamed To thwart the State in rank disloyalty; Strange power there is in ties of blood, that we, Born of woe-laden mother, sire ill-starred, Are bound by: therefore of thy full free-will, Share thou, my soul, in woes he did not will, Thou living, he being dead, with sister's heart. And this I say, no wolves with ravening maw, Shall tear his flesh—No! no! let none think that! For tomb and burial I will scheme for him, 1040 Though I be but weak woman, bringing earth Within my byssine raiment's fold, and so Myself will bury him; let no man think (I say't again) aught else. Take heart, my soul! There shall not fail the means effectual.

_Her._ I bid thee not defy the State in this.

_Ant._ I bid thee not proclaim vain words to me.

_Her._ Stern is the people now, with victory flushed.

_Ant._ Stern let them be, he shall not tombless lie.

_Her._ And wilt thou honour whom the State doth loathe?

_Ant._ *Yea, from the Gods he gets an honour due.[134]1050

_Her._ It was not so till he this land attacked.

_Ant._ He, suffering evil, evil would repay.

_Her._ Not against one his arms were turned, but all.

_Ant._ Strife is the last of Gods to end disputes: Him I will bury; talk no more of it.

_Her._ Choose for thyself then, I forbid the deed.

_Chor._ Alas! alas! alas! Ye haughty boasters, race-destroying, Now Fates and now Erinnyes, smiting The sons of Œdipus, ye slew them, With a root-and-branch destruction. 1060 What shall I then do, what suffer? What shall I devise in counsel? How should I dare nor to weep thee, Nor escort thee to the burial? But I tremble and I shrink from All the terrors which they threatened, They who are my fellow-townsmen. Many mourners thou (_looking to the bier of_ ETEOCLES) shalt meet with; But he, lost one, unlamented, With his sister's wailing only Passeth. Who with this complieth?

_Semi-Chor. A_. Let the city doom or not doom Those who weep for Polyneikes; We will go, and we will bury, 1070 Maidens we in sad procession; For the woe to all is common, And our State with voice uncertain, Of the claims of Right and Justice; Hither, thither, shifts its praises.

_Semi-Chor. B._ We will thus, our chief attending, Speak, as speaks the State, our praises: Of the claims of Right and Justice;[135] For next those the Blessed Rulers, And the strength of Zeus, he chiefly Saved the city of Cadmeians From the doom of fell destruction, From the doom of whelming utter, In the flood of alien warriors.

[_Exeunt_ ANTIGONE _and Semi-Chorus A., following the corpse of_ POLYNEIKES; ISMENE _and Semi-Chorus B. that of_ ETEOCLES.

Footnote 73:

Probably directed against the tendency of the Athenians, as shown in their treatment of Miltiades, and later in that of Thukydides, to punish their unsuccessful generals, “_pour encourager les autres_.”

Footnote 74:

Teiresias, as in Sophocles (_Antig._ v. 1005), sitting, though blind, and listening, as the birds flit by him, and the flames burn steadily or fitfully; a various reading gives “apart from sight.”

Footnote 75:

Enyo, the goddess of war, and companion of Ares.

Footnote 76:

Amphiaraos the seer had prophesied that Adrastos alone should return home in safety. On his car, therefore, the other chieftains hung the clasps, or locks of hair, or other memorials which in the event of their death were to be taken to their parents.

Footnote 77:

The Hellenic feeling, such as the Platæans appealed to in the Peloponnesian war (Thuc. iii. 58, 59), that it was noble and right for Hellenes to destroy a city of the barbarians, but that they should spare one belonging to a people of their own stock.

Footnote 78:

The characteristic feature of the Argive soldiers was, that they bore a shield painted white (comp. Sophocles, _Antig._ v. 114). The leaders alone appear to have embellished this with devices and mottoes.

Footnote 79:

In solemn supplications, the litanies of the ancient world, especially in those to Pallas, the suppliants carried with them in procession the shawl or _peplos_ of the Goddess, and with it enwrapt her statue. To carry boughs of trees in the hands was one of the uniform, probably indispensable, accompaniments of such processions.

Footnote 80:

The words recall our thoughts to the original use of the trident, which became afterwards a symbol of Poseidon, as employed by the sailors of Hellas to spear or harpoon the larger fish of the Archipelago. Comp. _Pers._ v. 426, where the slaughter of a defeated army is compared to tunny-fishing.

Footnote 81:

Cadmos, probably “the man from the East,” the Phœnikian who had founded Thebes, and sown the dragon's seed, and taught men a Semitic alphabet for the non-Semitic speech of Hellas.

Footnote 82:

Worthy of his name as the Wolf-destroyer, mighty to destroy his foes.

Footnote 83:

Possibly “_from_ battlements attacked.” In the primitive sieges of Greek warfare stones were used as missiles alike by besieged and besiegers.

Footnote 84:

The name of Onca belonged especially to the Theban worship of Pallas, and was said to have been of Phœnikian origin, introduced by Cadmos. There seems, however, to have been a town Onkæ in Bœotia, with which the name was doubtless connected.

Footnote 85:

“Alien,” on account of the difference of dialect between the speech of Argos and that of Bœotia, though both were Hellenic.

Footnote 86:

The vehemence with which Eteocles reproves the wild frenzied wailing of the Chorus may be taken as an element of the higher culture showing itself in Athenian life, which led Solon to restrain such lamentations by special laws (Plutarch, _Solon_, c. 20). Here, too, we note in Æschylos an echo of the teaching of Epimenides.

Footnote 87:

As now the sailor of the Mediterranean turns to the image of his patron saint, so of old he ran in his distress to the figure of his God upon the prow of his ship (often, as in Acts xxviii. II, that of the _Dioscuri_), and called to it for deliverance (comp. Jonah i. 8).

Footnote 88:

Eteocles seems to wish for a short, plain prayer for deliverance, instead of the cries and supplications and vain repetitions of the Chorus.

Footnote 89:

The thought thus expressed was, that the Gods, yielding to the mightier law of destiny, or in their wrath at the guilt of men, left the city before its capture. The feeling was all but universal. Its two representative instances are found in Virgil, _Æn._ 351—

“Excessere omnes adytis arisque relictis Di quibus imperium hoc steterat;”

and the narrative given alike by Tacitus (_Hist._ v. 13), and Josephus (_Bell. Jud._ vi. 5, 3), that the cry “Let us depart hence,” was heard at midnight through the courts of the Temple, before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Footnote 90:

_Sc._ Blood must be shed in war. Ares would not be Ares without it. It is better to take it as it comes.

Footnote 91:

_Sc._, the company of Gods, Pallas, Hera and the others whom the Chorus had invoked.

Footnote 92:

Reference to this custom, which has passed from Pagan temples into Christian churches, is found in the _Agamemnon_, v. 562. It was connected, of course, with the general practice of offering as _ex votos_ any personal ornaments or clothing as a token of thanksgiving for special mercies.

Footnote 93:

Rivers and streams as the children of Tethys and Okeanos.

Footnote 94:

Here, as in v. 571, Tydeus appears as the real leader of the expedition, who had persuaded Adrastos and the other chiefs to join in it, and Amphiaraos, the prophet, the son of Œcleus, as having all along foreseen its disastrous issue. The account of the expedition in the _Œdipus at Colonos_ (1300-1330) may be compared with this.

Footnote 95:

The legend of the Medusa's head on the shield of Athena shows the practice of thus decorating shields to have been of remote date. In Homer it does not appear as common, and the account given of the shield of Achilles lays stress upon the work of the artist (Hephæstos) who wrought the shield in relief, not, as here, upon painted insignia. They were obviously common in the time of Æschylos.

Footnote 96:

The older families of Thebes boasted that they sprang from the survivors of the Sparti, who, sprung from the Dragon's teeth, waged deadly war against each other, till all but five were slain. The later settlers, who were said to have come with Cadmos, stood to these as the “greater” to the “lesser _gentes_” at Rome.

Footnote 97:

So in the _Antigone_ of Sophocles (v. 134), Capaneus appears as the special representative of boastful, reckless impiety.

Footnote 98:

Artemis, as one of the special Deities to whom Thebes was consecrated.

Footnote 99:

Apparently an Asiatic invention, to increase the terror of an attack of war-chariots.

Footnote 100:

The phrase and thought were almost proverbial in Athens. Men, as citizens, were thought of as fed at a common table, bound to contribute their gifts to the common stock. When they offered up their lives in battle, they were giving, as Pericles says (Thucyd. ii. 43), their noblest “contribution,” paying in full their subscription to the society of which they were members.

Footnote 101:

Thyiad, another name for the Mænads, the frenzied attendants on Dionysos.

Footnote 102:

_Sc._, in the legends of Typhon, not he, but Zeus, had proved the conqueror. The warrior, therefore, who chose Typhon for his badge was identifying himself with the losing, not the winning side.

Footnote 103:

The name, as we are told in v. 542, is Parthenopæos, the maiden-faced.

Footnote 104:

The Sphinx, besides its general character as an emblem of terror, had, of course, a special meaning as directed to the Thebans. The warrior who bore it threatened to renew the old days when the monster whom Œdipus had overcome had laid waste their city.

Footnote 105:

_Sc._, the Sphinx on his shield will not be allowed to enter the city. It will only serve as a mark, attracting men to attack both it and the warrior who bears it.

Footnote 106:

The quarrel between Tydeus and the seer Amphiaraos had been already touched upon.

Footnote 107:

I have used the old English word to express a term of like technical use in Athenian law processes. As the “sumpnour” called witnesses or parties to a suit into court, so Tydeus had summoned the Erinnys to do her work of destruction.

Footnote 108:

_Sc._, so pronounced his name as to emphasise the significance of its two component parts, as indicating that he who bore it was a man of much contention.

Footnote 109:

The words are obscure, but seem to refer to the badge of Polyneikes, the figure of Justice described in v. 643 as on his shield. How shall that Justice, the seer asks, console Jocasta for her son's death? Another rendering gives,

“And how shall Justice quench a mother's life?”

the “mother” being the country against which Polyneikes wars.

Footnote 110:

The words had a twofold fulfilment (1) in the burial of Amphiaraos, in the Theban soil; and (2) in the honour which accrued to Thebes after his death, through the fame of the oracle at his shrine.

Footnote 111:

The passage cannot be passed over without noticing the old tradition (Plutarch, _Aristeid._ c. 3), that when the actor uttered these words, he and the whole audience looked to Aristeides, surnamed the Just, as recognising that the words were true of him as they were of no one else. “Best,” instead of “just,” is, however, a very old various reading.

Footnote 112:

If the former reference to Aristeides be admitted, we can scarcely avoid seeing in this passage an allusion to Themistocles, as one with whose reckless and democratic policy it was dangerous for the more conservative leader to associate himself.

Footnote 113:

The far-off city, not of Thebes, but of Hades. In the legend of Thebes, the earth opened and swallowed up Amphiaraos, as in 583.

Footnote 114:

The short spear was usually carried under the shelter of the shield; when brought into action it was, of course, laid bare.

Footnote 115:

Perhaps “since death is at nigh hand.”

Footnote 116:

The Chorus means that if Eteocles would allow himself to be overcome in this contest of his wishes with their prayers the Gods would honour that defeat as if it were indeed a victory. He makes answer that the very thought of being overcome implied in the word “defeat” in anything is one which the true warrior cannot bear.

Footnote 117:

The “Chalyb stranger” is the sword, thought of as taking its name from the Skythian tribe of the Chalybes, between Colchis and Armenia, and passing through the Thrakians into Greece.

Footnote 118:

The two brothers, _i.e._, are set at one again, but it is not in the bonds of friendship, but in those of death.

Footnote 119:

The image meets us again in _Agam._ 980. Here the thought is, that a man too prosperous is like a ship too heavily freighted. He must part with a portion of his possession in order to save the rest. Not to part with them leads, when the storm rages, to an enforced abandonment and utter loss.

Footnote 120:

Another reading gives—

“And race of those who crowd the Agora.”

Footnote 121:

This seems to have been one form of the legends as to the cause of the curse which Œdipus had launched upon his sons, An alternative rendering is—

And with a mind enraged At thought of what they were whom he had reared, He at his sons did hurl His curses dire and dark.

Footnote 122:

_Sc._, when Eteocles fell, Apollo took his place at the seventh gate, and turned the tide of war in favour of the Thebans.

Footnote 123:

I follow in this dialogue the arrangement which Paley adopts from Hermann.

Footnote 124:

There seems an intentional ambiguity. They are “borne on,” but it is as the corpses of the dead are borne to the sepulchre.

Footnote 125:

Not here the curse uttered by Œdipus, but that which rested on him and all his kin. There is possibly an allusion to the curse which Pelops is said to have uttered against Laios when he stole his son Chrysippos. Comp. v. 837.

Footnote 126:

As in v. 763 we read of the brothers as made one in death, so now of the concord which is wrought out by conflict, the concord, _i.e._, of the grave.

Footnote 127:

The Chorus are called on to change their character, and to pass from the attitude of suppliants, with outstretched arms, to that of mourners at a funeral, beating on their breasts. But, perhaps, the call is addressed to the mourners who are seen approaching with Ismene and Antigone.

Footnote 128:

The thought is drawn from the _theoris_ or pilgrim-ship, which went with snow-white sails, and accompanied by joyful pæans, on a solemn mission from Athens to Delos. In contrast with this type of joy, Æschylos draws the picture of the boat of Charon, which passes over the gloomy pool accompanied by the sighs and gestures of bitter lamentation. So, in the old Attic legend, the ship that annually carried seven youths and maidens to the Minotaur of Crete was conspicuous for its black sails.

Footnote 129:

The “Chalyb,” or iron sword, which the Hellenes had imported from the Skythians. Comp. vv. 70. 86.

Footnote 130:

The lyrical, operative character of Greek tragedies has to be borne in mind as we read passages like that which follows. They were not meant to be _read_. Uttered in a passionate recitative, accompanied by expressive action, they probably formed a very effective element in the actual representation of the tragedy. We may look on it as the only extant specimen of the kind of wailing which was characteristic of Eastern burials, and which was slowly passing away in Greece under the influence of a higher culture. The early fondness of Æschylos for a _finale_ of this nature is seen also in _The Persians_, and in a more solemn and subdued form, in the _Eumenides_. The feeling that there was something barbaric in these untoward displays of grief, showed itself alike in the legislation of Solon, and the eloquence of Pericles.

Footnote 131:

Here, and perhaps throughout, we must think of Antigone as addressing and looking on the corpse of Polyneikes, Ismene on that of Eteocles.

Footnote 132:

Perhaps

“Unless some God had stood against the spear This chief did wield.”

Footnote 133:

The speech of the Antigone becomes the starting-point, in the hands of Sophocles, of the noblest of his tragedies. The denial of burial, it will be remembered, was looked on as not merely an indignity and outrage against the feelings of the living, but as depriving the souls of the dead of all rest and peace. As such it was the punishment of parricides and traitors.

Footnote 134:

The words are obscure enough, the point lying, it may be, in their ambiguity. Antigone here, as in the tragedy of Sophocles, pleads that the Gods have pardoned; they still command and love the reverence for the dead, which she is about to show. The herald catches up her words and takes them in another sense, as though all the honour he had met with from the Gods had been defeat, and death, and shame, as the reward of his sacrilege. Another rendering, however, gives—

“Yes, so the Gods have done with honouring him.”

Footnote 135:

The words are probably a protest against the changeableness of the Athenian _demos_, as seen especially in their treatment of Aristeides.

PROMETHEUS BOUND

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

PROMETHEUS HERMES OKEANOS STRENGTH HEPHÆSTOS FORCE _Chorus of Ocean Nymphs_

_ARGUMENT.—In the old time, when Cronos was sovereign of the Gods, Zeus, whom he had begotten, rose up against him, and the Gods were divided in their counsels, some, the Titans chiefly, siding with the father, and some with the son. And Prometheus, the son of Earth or Themis, though one of the Titans, supported Zeus, as did also Okeanos, and by his counsels Zeus obtained the victory, and Cronos was chained in Tartaros, and the Titans buried under mountains, or kept in bonds in Hades. And then Prometheus, seeing the miseries of the race of men, of whom Zeus took little heed, stole the fire which till then had belonged to none but Hephæstos and was used only for the Gods, and gave it to mankind, and taught them many arts whereby their wretchedness was lessened. But Zeus being wroth with Prometheus for this deed, sent Hephæstos, with his two helpers, Strength and Force, to fetter him to a rock on Caucasos._

_And in yet another story was the cruelty of the Gods made known. For Zeus loved Io, the daughter of Inachos, king of Argos, and she was haunted by visions of the night, telling her of his passion, and she told her father thereof. And Inachos, sending to the God at Delphi, was told to drive Io forth from her home. And Zeus gave her the horns of a cow, and Hera, who hated her because she was dear to Zeus, sent with her a gadfly that stung her, and gave her no rest, and drove her over many lands._

_Note._—The play is believed to have been the second of a Trilogy, of which the first was _Prometheus the Fire-giver_, and the third _Prometheus Unbound_.

PROMETHEUS BOUND

SCENE.—SKYTHIA, _on the heights of Caucasos. The Euxine seen in the distance_

_Enter_ HEPHÆSTOS, STRENGTH, _and_ FORCE, _leading_ PROMETHEUS _in chains_[136]

_Strength._ Lo! to a plain, earth's boundary remote, We now are come,—the tract as Skythian known, A desert inaccessible: and now, Hephæstos, it is thine to do the hests The Father gave thee, to these lofty crags To bind this crafty trickster fast in chains Of adamantine bonds that none can break; For he thy choice flower stealing, the bright glory Of fire that all arts spring from, hath bestowed it On mortal men. And so for fault like this He now must pay the Gods due penalty, That he may learn to bear the sovereign rule 10 Of Zeus, and cease from his philanthropy.

_Heph._ O Strength, and thou, O Force, the hest of Zeus, As far as touches you, attains its end, And nothing hinders. Yet my courage fails To bind a God of mine own kin by force To this bare rock where tempests wildly sweep; And yet I needs must muster courage for it: 'Tis no slight thing the Father's words to scorn. O thou of Themis [_to_ PROMETHEUS] wise in counsel son, Full deep of purpose, lo! against my will,[137] I fetter thee against thy will with bonds Of bronze that none can loose, to this lone height, 20 Where thou shalt know nor voice nor face of man, But scorching in the hot blaze of the sun, Shalt lose thy skin's fair beauty. Thou shalt long For starry-mantled night to hide day's sheen, For sun to melt the rime of early dawn; And evermore the weight of present ill Shall wear thee down. Unborn as yet is he Who shall release thee: this the fate thou gain'st As due reward for thy philanthropy. For thou, a God not fearing wrath of Gods, In thy transgression gav'st their power to men; 30 And therefore on this rock of little ease Thou still shalt keep thy watch, nor lying down, Nor knowing sleep, nor ever bending knee; And many groans and wailings profitless Thy lips shall utter; for the mind of Zeus Remains inexorable. Who holds a power But newly gained[138] is ever stern of mood.

_Strength._ Let be! Why linger in this idle pity? Why dost not hate a God to Gods a foe, Who gave thy choicest prize to mortal men?

_Heph._ Strange is the power of kin and intercourse.[139]

_Strength._ I own it; yet to slight the Father's words, 40 How may that be? Is not that fear the worse?

_Heph._ Still art thou ruthless, full of savagery.

_Strength._ There is no help in weeping over him: Spend not thy toil on things that profit not.

_Heph._ O handicraft to me intolerable!

_Strength._ Why loath'st thou it? Of these thy present griefs That craft of thine is not one whit the cause.

_Heph._ And yet I would some other had that skill.

_Strength._ *All things bring toil except for Gods to reign;[140] For none but Zeus can boast of freedom true. 50

_Heph._ Too well I see the proof, and gainsay not.

_Strength._ Wilt thou not speed to fix the chains on him, Lest He, the Father, see thee loitering here?

_Heph._ Well, here the handcuffs thou may'st see prepared.

_Strength._ In thine hands take him. Then with all thy might Strike with thine hammer; nail him to the rocks.

_Heph._ The work goes on, I ween, and not in vain.

_Strength._ Strike harder, rivet, give no whit of ease: A wondrous knack has he to find resource, Even where all might seem to baffle him.

_Heph._ Lo! this his arm is fixed inextricably. 60

_Strength._ Now rivet thou this other fast, that he May learn, though sharp, that he than Zeus is duller.

_Heph._ No one but he could justly blame my work.

_Strength._ Now drive the stern jaw of the adamant wedge Right through his chest with all the strength thou hast.

_Heph._ Ah me! Prometheus, for thy woes I groan.

_Strength._ Again, thou'rt loth, and for the foes of Zeus Thou groanest: take good heed to it lest thou Ere long with cause thyself commiserate.

_Heph._ Thou see'st a sight unsightly to our eyes.

_Strength._ I see this man obtaining his deserts: 70 Nay, cast thy breast-chains round about his ribs.

_Heph._ I must needs do it. Spare thine o'er much bidding; Go thou below and rivet both his legs.[141]

_Strength._ Nay, I will bid thee, urge thee to thy work.

_Heph._ There, it is done, and that with no long toil.

_Strength._ Now with thy full power fix the galling fetters: Thou hast a stern o'erlooker of thy work.

_Heph._ Thy tongue but utters words that match thy form.[142]

_Strength._ Choose thou the melting mood; but chide not me For my self-will and wrath and ruthlessness. 80

_Heph._ Now let us go, his limbs are bound in chains.

_Strength._ Here then wax proud, and stealing what belongs To the Gods, to mortals give it. What can they Avail to rescue thee from these thy woes? Falsely the Gods have given thee thy name, Prometheus, Forethought; forethought thou dost need To free thyself from this rare handiwork.

[_Exeunt_ HEPHÆSTOS, STRENGTH, _and_ FORCE, _leaving_ PROMETHEUS _on the rock_

_Prom._[143] Thou firmament of God, and swift-winged winds, Ye springs of rivers, and of ocean waves That smile innumerous! Mother of us all, 90 O Earth, and Sun's all-seeing eye, behold, I pray, what I a God from Gods endure. Behold in what foul case I for ten thousand years Shall struggle in my woe, In these unseemly chains. Such doom the new-made Monarch of the Blest Hath now devised for me. Woe, woe! The present and the oncoming pang I wail, as I search out The place and hour when end of all these ills Shall dawn on me at last. 100 What say I? All too clearly I foresee The things that come, and nought of pain shall be By me unlooked-for; but I needs must bear My destiny as best I may, knowing well The might resistless of Necessity. And neither may I speak of this my fate, Nor hold my peace. For I, poor I, through giving Great gifts to mortal men, am prisoner made In these fast fetters; yea, in fennel stalk[144] I snatched the hidden spring of stolen fire, Which is to men a teacher of all arts, 110 Their chief resource. And now this penalty Of that offence I pay, fast riveted In chains beneath the open firmament. Ha! ha! What now? What sound, what odour floats invisibly?[145] Is it of God or man, or blending both? And has one come to the remotest rock To look upon my woes? Or what wills he? Behold me bound, a God to evil doomed, The foe of Zeus, and held In hatred by all Gods 120 Who tread the courts of Zeus: And this for my great love, Too great, for mortal men. Ah me! what rustling sounds Hear I of birds not far? With the light whirr of wings The air re-echoeth: All that draws nigh to me is cause of fear.[146]

_Enter Chorus of_ Ocean Nymphs, _with wings, floating in the air_[147]

_Chor._ Nay, fear thou nought: in love All our array of wings In eager race hath come 130 To this high peak, full hardly gaining o'er Our Father's mind and will; And the swift-rushing breezes bore me on: For lo! the echoing sound of blows on iron Pierced to our cave's recess, and put to flight My shamefast modesty, And I in unshod haste, on winged car, To thee rushed hitherward.

_Prom._ Ah me! ah me! Offspring of Tethys blest with many a child, 140 Daughters of Old Okeanos that rolls Round all the earth with never-sleeping stream, Behold ye me, and see With what chains fettered fast, I on the topmost crags of this ravine Shall keep my sentry-post unenviable.

_Chor._ I see it, O Prometheus, and a mist Of fear and full of tears comes o'er mine eyes, Thy frame beholding thus, Writhing on these high rocks 150 In adamantine ills. New pilots now o'er high Olympos rule, And with new-fashioned laws Zeus reigns, down-trampling right, And all the ancient powers He sweeps away.

_Prom._ Ah! would that 'neath the Earth, 'neath Hades too, Home of the dead, far down to Tartaros 160 Unfathomable He in fetters fast In wrath had hurled me down: So neither had a God Nor any other mocked at these my woes; But now, the wretched plaything of the winds, I suffer ills at which my foes rejoice.

_Chor._ Nay, which of all the Gods Is so hard-hearted as to joy in this? Who, Zeus excepted, doth not pity thee In these thine ills? But He, Ruthless, with soul unbent, Subdues the heavenly host, nor will He cease[148] 170 Until his heart be satiate with power, Or some one seize with subtle stratagem The sovran might that so resistless seemed.

_Prom._ Nay, of a truth, though put to evil shame, In massive fetters bound, The Ruler of the Gods Shall yet have need of me, yes, e'en of me, To tell the counsel new That seeks to strip from him His sceptre and his might of sovereignty. In vain will He with words Or suasion's honeyed charms 180 Soothe me, nor will I tell Through fear of his stern threats, Ere He shall set me free From these my bonds, and make, Of his own choice, amends For all these outrages.

_Chor._ Full rash art thou, and yield'st In not a jot to bitterest form of woe; Thou art o'er-free and reckless in thy speech: But piercing fear hath stirred My inmost soul to strife; For I fear greatly touching thy distress, As to what haven of these woes of thine 190 Thou now must steer: the son of Cronos hath A stubborn mood and heart inexorable.

_Prom._ I know that Zeus is hard, And keeps the Right supremely to himself; But then, I trow, He'll be Full pliant in his will, When He is thus crushed down. Then, calming down his mood Of hard and bitter wrath, He'll hasten unto me, As I to him shall haste, 200 For friendship and for peace.

_Chor._ Hide it not from us, tell us all the tale: For what offence Zeus, having seized thee thus, So wantonly and bitterly insults thee: If the tale hurt thee not, inform thou us.

_Prom._ Painful are these things to me e'en to speak: Painful is silence; everywhere is woe. For when the high Gods fell on mood of wrath, And hot debate of mutual strife was stirred, Some wishing to hurl Cronos from his throne, That Zeus, forsooth, might reign; while others strove, Eager that Zeus might never rule the Gods: 210 Then I, full strongly seeking to persuade The Titans, yea, the sons of Heaven and Earth, Failed of my purpose. Scorning subtle arts, With counsels violent, they thought that they By force would gain full easy mastery. But then not once or twice my mother Themis And Earth, one form though bearing many names,[149] Had prophesied the future, how 'twould run, That not by strength nor yet by violence, 220 But guile, should those who prospered gain the day. And when in my words I this counsel gave, They deigned not e'en to glance at it at all. And then of all that offered, it seemed best To join my mother, and of mine own will, Not against his will, take my side with Zeus, And by my counsels, mine, the dark deep pit Of Tartaros the ancient Cronos holds, Himself and his allies. Thus profiting By me, the mighty ruler of the Gods 230 Repays me with these evil penalties: For somehow this disease in sovereignty Inheres, of never trusting to one's friends.[150] And since ye ask me under what pretence He thus maltreats me, I will show it you: For soon as He upon his father's throne Had sat secure, forthwith to divers Gods He divers gifts distributed, and his realm Began to order. But of mortal men He took no heed, but purposed utterly 240 To crush their race and plant another new; And, I excepted, none dared cross his will; But I did dare, and mortal men I freed From passing on to Hades thunder-stricken; And therefore am I bound beneath these woes, Dreadful to suffer, pitiable to see: And I, who in my pity thought of men More than myself, have not been worthy deemed To gain like favour, but all ruthlessly I thus am chained, foul shame this sight to Zeus.

_Chor._ Iron-hearted must he be and made of rock 250 Who is not moved, Prometheus, by thy woes: Fain could I wish I ne'er had seen such things, And, seeing them, am wounded to the heart.

_Prom._ Yea, I am piteous for my friends to see.

_Chor._ Did'st thou not go to farther lengths than this?

_Prom._ I made men cease from contemplating death.[151]

_Chor._ What medicine did'st thou find for that disease?

_Prom._ Blind hopes I gave to live and dwell with them.

_Chor._ Great service that thou did'st for mortal men!

_Prom._ And more than that, I gave them fire, yes I. 260

_Chor._ Do short-lived men the flaming fire possess?

_Prom._ Yea, and full many an art they'll learn from it.

_Chor._ And is it then on charges such as these That Zeus maltreats thee, and no respite gives Of many woes? And has thy pain no end?

_Prom._ End there is none, except as pleases Him.

_Chor._ How shall it please? What hope hast thou? See'st not That thou hast sinned? Yet to say how thou sinned'st Gives me no pleasure, and is pain to thee. Well! let us leave these things, and, if we may, Seek out some means to 'scape from this thy woe. 270

_Prom._ 'Tis a light thing for one who has his foot Beyond the reach of evil to exhort And counsel him who suffers. This to me Was all well known. Yea, willing, willingly I sinned, nor will deny it. Helping men, I for myself found trouble: yet I thought not That I with such dread penalties as these Should wither here on these high-towering crags, Lighting on this lone hill and neighbourless. Wherefore wail not for these my present woes, But, drawing nigh, my coming fortunes hear, 280 That ye may learn the whole tale to the end. Nay, hearken, hearken; show your sympathy With him who suffers now. 'Tis thus that woe, Wandering, now falls on this one, now on that.

_Chor._ Not to unwilling hearers hast thou uttered, Prometheus, thy request, And now with nimble foot abounding My swiftly rushing car, And the pure æther, path of birds of heaven, 290 I will draw near this rough and rocky land, For much do I desire To hear this tale, full measure, of thy woes.

_Enter_ OKEANOS, _on a car drawn by a winged gryphon_

_Okean._ Lo, I come to thee, Prometheus, Reaching goal of distant journey,[152] Guiding this my winged courser By my will, without a bridle; And thy sorrows move my pity. Force, in part, I deem, of kindred Leads me on, nor know I any, Whom, apart from kin, I honour 300 More than thee, in fuller measure. This thou shall own true and earnest: I deal not in glozing speeches. Come then, tell me how to help thee; Ne'er shalt thou say that one more friendly Is found than unto thee is Okean.

_Prom._ Let be. What boots it? Thou then too art come To gaze upon my sufferings. How did'st dare Leaving the stream that bears thy name, and caves Hewn in the living rock, this land to visit, Mother of iron? What then, art thou come To gaze upon my fall and offer pity? 310 Behold this sight: see here the friend of Zeus, Who helped to seat him in his sovereignty, With what foul outrage I am crushed by him!

_Okean._ I see, Prometheus, and I wish to give thee My best advice, all subtle though thou be. Know thou thyself,[153] and fit thy soul to moods To thee full new. New king the Gods have now; But if thou utter words thus rough and sharp, Perchance, though sitting far away on high, 320 Zeus yet may hear thee, and his present wrath Seem to thee but as child's play of distress. Nay, thou poor sufferer, quit the rage thou hast, And seek a remedy for these thine ills. A tale thrice-told, perchance I seem to speak: Lo! this, Prometheus, is the punishment Of thine o'er lofty speech, nor art thou yet Humbled, nor yieldest to thy miseries, And fain would'st add fresh evils unto these. But thou, if thou wilt take me as thy teacher, 330 Wilt not kick out against the pricks;[154] seeing well A monarch reigns who gives account to none. And now I go, and will an effort make, If I, perchance, may free thee from thy woes; Be still then, hush thy petulance of speech, Or knowest thou not, o'er-clever as thou art, That idle tongues must still their forfeit pay?

_Prom._ I envy thee, seeing thou art free from blame Though thou shared'st all, and in my cause wast bold;[155] Nay, let me be, nor trouble thou thyself; 340 Thou wilt not, canst not soothe Him; very hard Is He of soothing. Look to it thyself, Lest thou some mischief meet with in the way.

_Okean._ It is thy wont thy neighbours' minds to school Far better than thine own. From deeds, not words, I draw my proof. But do not draw me back When I am hasting on, for lo, I deem, I deem that Zeus will grant this boon to me, That I should free thee from these woes of thine.

_Prom._ I thank thee much, yea, ne'er will cease to thank; For thou no whit of zeal dost lack; yet take, I pray, no trouble for me; all in vain Thy trouble, nothing helping, e'en if thou 350 Should'st care to take the trouble. Nay, be still; Keep out of harm's way; sufferer though I be, I would not therefore wish to give my woes A wider range o'er others. No, not so: For lo! my mind is wearied with the grief Of that my kinsman Atlas,[156] who doth stand In the far West, supporting on his shoulders The pillars of the earth and heaven, a burden His arms can ill but hold: I pity too The giant dweller of Kilikian caves, 360 Dread portent, with his hundred hands, subdued By force, the mighty Typhon,[157] who arose 'Gainst all the Gods, with sharp and dreadful jaws Hissing out slaughter, and from out his eyes There flashed the terrible brightness as of one Who would lay low the sovereignty of Zeus. But the unsleeping dart of Zeus came on him, Down-swooping thunderbolt that breathes out flame, Which from his lofty boastings startled him, For he i' the heart was struck, to ashes burnt, 370 His strength all thunder-shattered; and he lies A helpless, powerless carcase, near the strait Of the great sea, fast pressed beneath the roots Of ancient Ætna, where on highest peak Hephæstos sits and smites his iron red-hot, From whence hereafter streams of fire shall burst,[158] Devouring with fierce jaws the golden plains Of fruitful, fair Sikelia. Such the wrath That Typhon shall belch forth with bursts of storm, Hot, breathing fire, and unapproachable, Though burnt and charred by thunderbolts of Zeus. 380 Not inexperienced art thou, nor dost need My teaching: save thyself, as thou know'st how; And I will drink my fortune to the dregs, Till from his wrath the mind of Zeus shall rest.[159]

_Okean._ Know'st thou not this, Prometheus, even this, Of wrath's disease wise words the healers are?

_Prom._ Yea, could one soothe the troubled heart in time, Nor seek by force to tame the soul's proud flesh.

_Okean._ But in due forethought with bold daring blent, What mischief see'st thou lurking? Tell me this. 390

_Prom._ Toil bootless, and simplicity full fond.

_Okean._ Let me, I pray, that sickness suffer, since 'Tis best being wise to have not wisdom's show.

_Prom._ Nay, but this error shall be deemed as mine.

_Okean._ Thy word then clearly sends me home at once.

_Prom._ Yea, lest thy pity for me make a foe....

_Okean._ What! of that new king on his mighty throne?

_Prom._ Look to it, lest his heart be vexed with thee.

_Okean._ Thy fate, Prometheus, teaches me that lesson.

_Prom._ Away, withdraw! keep thou the mind thou hast. 400

_Okean._ Thou urgest me who am in act to haste; For this my bird four-footed flaps with wings The clear path of the æther; and full fain Would he bend knee in his own stall at home. [_Exit_.

STROPHE I

_Chor._ I grieve, Prometheus, for thy dreary fate, Shedding from tender eyes The dew of plenteous tears; With streams, as when the watery south wind blows, My cheek is wet; 410 For lo! these things are all unenviable, And Zeus, by his own laws his sway maintaining, Shows to the elder Gods A mood of haughtiness.

ANTISTROPHE I

And all the country echoeth with the moan, And poureth many a tear For that magnific power Of ancient days far-seen that thou did'st share With those of one blood sprung; And all the mortal men who hold the plain 420 Of holy Asia as their land of sojourn, They grieve in sympathy For thy woes lamentable.

STROPHE II

And they, the maiden band who find their home On distant Colchian coasts, Fearless of fight,[160] Or Skythian horde in earth's remotest clime, By far Mæotic lake;[161]

ANTISTROPHE II

*And warlike glory of Arabia's tribes,[162] Who nigh to Caucasos 430 In rock-fort dwell, An army fearful, with sharp-pointed spear Raging in war's array.

STROPHE III

One other Titan only have I seen, One other of the Gods, Thus bound in woes of adamantine strength— Atlas, who ever groans Beneath the burden of a crushing might, The out-spread vault of heaven.

ANTISTROPHE III

And lo! the ocean billows murmur loud 440 In one accord with him;[163] The sea-depths groan, and Hades' swarthy pit Re-echoeth the sound, And fountains of clear rivers, as they flow, Bewail his bitter griefs.

_Prom._ Think not it is through pride or stiff self-will That I am silent. But my heart is worn, Self-contemplating, as I see myself Thus outraged. Yet what other hand than mine Gave these young Gods in fulness all their gifts? But these I speak not of; for I should tell To you that know them. But those woes of men,[164] 450 List ye to them,—how they, before as babes, By me were roused to reason, taught to think; And this I say, not finding fault with men, But showing my good-will in all I gave. For first, though seeing, all in vain they saw, And hearing, heard not rightly. But, like forms Of phantom-dreams, throughout their life's whole length They muddled all at random; did not know Houses of brick that catch the sunlight's warmth, Nor yet the work of carpentry. They dwelt In hollowed holes, like swarms of tiny ants, 460 In sunless depths of caverns; and they had No certain signs of winter, nor of spring Flower-laden, nor of summer with her fruits; But without counsel fared their whole life long, Until I showed the risings of the stars, And settings hard to recognise.[165] And I Found Number for them, chief device of all, *Groupings of letters, Memory's handmaid that, And mother of the Muses.[166] And I first Bound in the yoke wild steeds, submissive made 470 Or to the collar or men's limbs, that so They might in man's place bear his greatest toils; And horses trained to love the rein I yoked To chariots, glory of wealth's pride of state;[167] Nor was it any one but I that found Sea-crossing, canvas-wingèd cars of ships: Such rare designs inventing (wretched me!) For mortal men, I yet have no device By which to free myself from this my woe.[168]

_Chor._ Foul shame thou sufferest: of thy sense bereaved, 480 Thou errest greatly: and, like leech unskilled, Thou losest heart when smitten with disease, And know'st not how to find the remedies Wherewith to heal thine own soul's sicknesses.

_Prom._ Hearing what yet remains thou'lt wonder more, What arts and what resources I devised: And this the chief: if any one fell ill, There was no help for him, nor healing food, Nor unguent, nor yet potion; but for want Of drugs they wasted, till I showed to them The blendings of all mild medicaments,[169] 490 Wherewith they ward the attacks of sickness sore. I gave them many modes of prophecy;[170] And I first taught them what dreams needs must prove True visions, and made known the ominous sounds Full hard to know; and tokens by the way, And flights of taloned birds I clearly marked,— Those on the right propitious to mankind, And those sinister,—and what form of life They each maintain, and what their enmities Each with the other, and their loves and friendships; 500 And of the inward parts the plumpness smooth. And with what colour they the Gods would please, And the streaked comeliness of gall and liver: And with burnt limbs enwrapt in fat, and chine, I led men on to art full difficult: And I gave eyes to omens drawn from fire, Till then dim-visioned. So far then for this. And 'neath the earth the hidden boons for men, Bronze, iron, silver, gold, who else could say 510 That he, ere I did, found them? None, I know, Unless he fain would babble idle words. In one short word, then, learn the truth condensed,— Allarts of mortals from Prometheus spring.

_Chor._ Nay, be not thou to men so over-kind, While thou thyself art in sore evil case; For I am sanguine that thou too, released From bonds, shall be as strong as Zeus himself.

_Prom._ It is not thus that Fate's decree is fixed; But I, long crushed with twice ten thousand woes 520 And bitter pains, shall then escape my bonds; Art is far weaker than Necessity.

_Chor._ Who guides the helm, then, of Necessity?

_Prom._ Fates triple-formed, Errinyes unforgetting.

_Chor._ Is Zeus, then, weaker in his might than these?

_Prom._ Not even He can 'scape the thing decreed.

_Chor._ What is decreed for Zeus but still to reign?

_Prom._ Thou may'st no further learn, ask thou no more.

_Chor._ 'Tis doubtless some dread secret which thou hidest.

_Prom._ Of other theme make mention, for the time 530 Is not yet come to utter this, but still It must be hidden to the uttermost; For by thus keeping it it is that I Escape my bondage foul, and these my pains.

STROPHE I

_Chor._ Ah! ne'er may Zeus the Lord, Whose sovran sway rules all, His strength in conflict set Against my feeble will! Nor may I fail to serve The Gods with holy feast Of whole burnt-offerings, Where the stream ever flows That bears my father's name, The great Okeanos! Nor may I sin in speech! 540 May this grace more and more Sink deep into my soul And never fade away!

ANTISTROPHE I

Sweet is it in strong hope To spend long years of life, With bright and cheering joy Our heart's thoughts nourishing. I shudder, seeing thee Thus vexed and harassed sore. By twice ten thousand woes; For thou in pride of heart, Having no fear of Zeus, 550 In thine own obstinacy, Dost show for mortal men, Prometheus, love o'ermuch.

STROPHE II

See how that boon, dear friends, For thee is bootless found. Say, where is any help? What aid from mortals comes? Hast thou not seen this brief and powerless life, Fleeting as dreams, with which man's purblind race Is fast in fetters bound? 560 Never shall counsels vain Of mortal men break through The harmony of Zeus.

ANTISTROPHE II

This lesson have I learnt Beholding thy sad fate, Prometheus! Other strains Come back upon my mind, When I sang wedding hymns around thy bath, And at thy bridal bed, when thou did'st take In wedlock's holy bands One of the same sire born, Our own Hesione, 570 Persuading her with gifts As wife to share thy couch.

_Enter_ IO _in form like a fair woman with a heifer's horns_,[171] _followed by the Spectre of_ ARGOS

_Io._ What land is this? What people? Whom shall I Say that I see thus vexed With bit and curb of rock? For what offence dost thou Bear fatal punishment? Tell me to what far land I've wandered here in woe. Ah me! ah me! Again the gadfly stings me miserable. Spectre of Argos, thou, the earth-born one— Ah, keep him off, O Earth! I fear to look upon that herdsman dread, 580 Him with ten thousand eyes: Ah lo! he cometh with his crafty look, Whom Earth refuses even dead to hold;[172] But coming from beneath He hunts me miserable, And drives me famished o'er the sea-beach sand.

STROPHE

And still his waxened reed-pipe soundeth clear A soft and slumberous strain; O heavens! O ye Gods! 590 Whither do these long wanderings lead me on? For what offence, O son of Cronos, what, Hast thou thus bound me fast In these great miseries? Ah me! ah me! And why with terror of the gadfly's sting Dost thou thus vex me, frenzied in my soul? Burn me with fire, or bury me in earth, Or to wild sea-beasts give me as a prey: Nay, grudge me not, O King, An answer to my prayers: 600 Enough my many-wandered wanderings Have exercised my soul, Nor have I power to learn How to avert the woe.

(_To Prometheus_.) Hear'st thou the voice of maiden crowned with horns?

_Prom._ Surely I heard the maid by gadfly driven, Daughter of Inachos, who warmed the heart Of Zeus with love, and now through Hera's hate Is tried, perforce, with wanderings over-long?

ANTISTROPHE

_Io._ How is it that thou speak'st my father's name? Tell me, the suffering one, 610 Who art thou, who, poor wretch, Who thus so truly nam'st me miserable, And tell'st the plague from Heaven, Which with its haunting stings Wears me to death? Ah woe! And I with famished and unseemly bounds Rush madly, driven by Hera's jealous craft. Ah, who of all that suffer, born to woe, 620 Have trouble like the pain that I endure? But thou, make clear to me, What yet for me remains, What remedy, what healing for my pangs. Show me, if thou dost know: Speak out and tell to me, The maid by wanderings vexed.

_Prom._ I will say plainly all thou seek'st to know; Not in dark tangled riddles, but plain speech, As it is meet that friends to friends should speak; Thou see'st Prometheus who gave fire to men. 630

_Io._ O thou to men as benefactor known, Why, poor Prometheus, sufferest thou this pain?

_Prom._ I have but now mine own woes ceased to wail.

_Io._ Wilt thou not then bestow this boon on me?

_Prom._ Say what thou seek'st, for I will tell thee all.

_Io._ Tell me, who fettered thee in this ravine?

_Prom._ The counsel was of Zeus, the hand Hephæstos'.

_Io._ Of what offence dost thou the forfeit pay?

_Prom._ Thus much alone am I content to tell.

_Io._ Tell me, at least, besides, what end shall come 640 To my drear wanderings; when the time shall be.

_Prom._ Not to know this is better than to know.

_Io._ Nay, hide not from me what I have to bear.

_Prom._ It is not that I grudge the boon to thee.

_Io._ Why then delayest thou to tell the whole?

_Prom._ Not from ill will, but loth to vex thy soul.

_Io._ Nay, care thou not beyond what pleases me.

_Prom._ If thou desire it I must speak. Hear then.

_Chor._ Not yet though; grant me share of pleasure too. Let us first ask the tale of her great woe, 650 While she unfolds her life's consuming chances; Her future sufferings let her learn from thee.

_Prom._ 'Tis thy work, Io, to grant these their wish, On other grounds and as thy father's kin:[173] For to bewail and moan one's evil chance, Here where one trusts to gain a pitying tear From those who hear,—this is not labour lost.

_Io._ I know not how to disobey your wish; So ye shall learn the whole that ye desire In speech full clear. And yet I blush to tell 660 The storm that came from God, and brought the loss Of maiden face, what way it seized on me. For nightly visions coming evermore Into my virgin bower, sought to woo me With glozing words. “O virgin greatly blest, Why art thou still a virgin when thou might'st Attain to highest wedlock? For with dart Of passion for thee Zeus doth glow, and fain Would make thee his. And thou, O child, spurn not The bed of Zeus, but go to Lerna's field, 670 Where feed thy father's flocks and herds, That so the eye of Zeus may find repose From this his craving.” With such visions I Was haunted every evening, till I dared To tell my father all these dreams of night, And he to Pytho and Dodona sent Full many to consult the Gods, that he, Might learn what deeds and words would please Heaven's lords. And they came bringing speech of oracles Shot with dark sayings, dim and hard to know. 680 At last a clear word came to Inachos Charging him plainly, and commanding him To thrust me from my country and my home, To stray at large[174] to utmost bounds of earth; And, should he gainsay, that the fiery bolt Of Zeus should come and sweep away his race. And he, by Loxias' oracles induced, Thrust me, against his will, against mine too, And drove me from my home; but spite of all, The curb of Zeus constrained him this to do. 690 And then forthwith my face and mind were changed; And hornèd, as ye see me, stung to the quick By biting gadfly, I with maddened leap Rushed to Kerchneia's fair and limpid stream, And fount of Lerna.[175] And a giant herdsman, Argos, full rough of temper, followed me, With many an eye beholding, on my track: And him a sudden and unlooked-for doom Deprived of life. And I, by gadfly stung, By scourge from Heaven am driven from land to land. 700 What has been done thou hearest. And if thou Can'st tell what yet remains of woe, declare it; Nor in thy pity soothe me with false words; For hollow words, I deem, are worst of ills.

_Chor._ Away, away, let be: Ne'er thought I that such tales Would ever, ever come unto mine ears; Nor that such terrors, woes and outrages, Hard to look on, hard to bear, 710 Would chill my soul with sharp goad, double-edged. Ah fate! Ah fate! I shudder, seeing Io's fortune strange.

_Prom._ Thou art too quick in groaning, full of fear: Wait thou a while until thou hear the rest.

_Chor._ Speak thou and tell. Unto the sick 'tis sweet Clearly to know what yet remains of pain.

_Prom._ Your former wish ye gained full easily. Your first desire was to learn of her 720 The tale she tells of her own sufferings; Now therefore hear the woes that yet remain For this poor maid to bear at Hera's hands. And thou, O child of Inachos! take heed To these my words, that thou may'st hear the goal Of all thy wanderings. First then, turning hence Towards the sunrise, tread the untilled plains, And thou shalt reach the Skythian nomads, those[176] Who on smooth-rolling waggons dwell aloft In wicker houses, with far-darting bows 730 Duly equipped. Approach thou not to these, But trending round the coasts on which the surf Beats with loud murmurs,[177] traverse thou that clime. On the left hand there dwell the Chalybes,[178] Who work in iron. Of these do thou beware, For fierce are they and most inhospitable; And thou wilt reach the river fierce and strong, True to its name.[179] This seek not thou to cross, For it is hard to ford, until thou come To Caucasos itself, of all high hills The highest, where a river pours its strength From the high peaks themselves. And thou must cross 740 Those summits near the stars, must onward go Towards the south, where thou shalt find the host Of the Amâzons, hating men, whose home Shall one day be around Thermôdon's bank, By Themiskyra,[180] where the ravenous jaws Of Salmydessos ope upon the sea, Treacherous to sailors, stepdame stern to ships.[181] And they with right good-will shall be thy guides; And thou, hard by a broad pool's narrow gates, Wilt pass to the Kimmerian isthmus. Leaving This boldly, thou must cross Mæotic channel;[182] 750 And there shall be great fame 'mong mortal men Of this thy journey, and the Bosporos[183] Shall take its name from thee. And Europe's plain Then quitting, thou shalt gain the Asian coast. Doth not the all-ruling monarch of the Gods Seem all ways cruel? For, although a God, He, seeking to embrace this mortal maid, Imposed these wanderings on her. Thou hast found, O maiden! bitter suitor for thy hand; For great as are the ills thou now hast heard, Know that as yet not e'en the prelude's known. 760

_Io._ Ah woe! woe! woe!

_Prom._ Again thou groan'st and criest. What wilt do When thou shall learn the evils yet to come?

_Chor._ What! are there troubles still to come for her?

_Prom._ Yea, stormy sea of woe most lamentable.

_Io._ What gain is it to live? Why cast I not Myself at once from this high precipice, And, dashed to earth, be free from all my woes? Far better were it once for all to die Than all one's days to suffer pain and grief. 770

_Prom._ My struggles then full hardly thou would'st bear, For whom there is no destiny of death; For that might bring a respite from my woes: But now there is no limit to my pangs Till Zeus be hurled out from his sovereignty.

_Io._ What! shall Zeus e'er be hurled from his high state?

_Prom._ Thou would'st rejoice, I trow, to see that fall.

_Io._ How should I not, when Zeus so foully wrongs me?

_Prom._ That this is so thou now may'st hear from me.

_Io._ Who then shall rob him of his sceptred sway? 780

_Prom._ Himself shall do it by his own rash plans.

_Io._ But how? Tell this, unless it bringeth harm.

_Prom._ He shall wed one for whom one day he'll grieve.

_Io._ Heaven-born or mortal? Tell, if tell thou may'st.

_Prom._ Why ask'st thou who? I may not tell thee that.

_Io._ Shall his bride hurl him from his throne of might?

_Prom._ Yea; she shall bear child mightier than his sire.

_Io._ Has he no way to turn aside that doom?

_Prom._ No, none; unless I from my bonds be loosed.[184]

_Io._ Who then shall loose thee 'gainst the will of Zeus? 790

_Prom._ It must be one of thy posterity.

_Io._ What, shall a child of mine free thee from ills?

_Prom._ Yea, the third generation after ten.[185]

_Io._ No more thine oracles are clear to me.

*_Prom._ Nay, seek not thou thine own drear fate to know.

_Io._ Do not, a boon presenting, then withdraw it.

_Prom._ Of two alternatives, I'll give thee choice.

_Io._ Tell me of what, then give me leave to choose.

_Prom._ I give it then. Choose, or that I should tell Thy woes to come, or who shall set me free. 800

_Chor._ Of these be willing one request to grant To her, and one to me; nor scorn my words: Tell her what yet of wanderings she must bear, And me who shall release thee. This I crave.

_Prom._ Since ye are eager, I will not refuse To utter fully all that ye desire. Thee, Io, first I'll tell thy wanderings wild, Thou, write it in the tablets of thy mind. When thou shalt cross the straits, of continents The boundary,[186] take thou the onward path On to the fiery-hued and sun-tracked East. 810 [And first of all, to frozen Northern blasts Thou'lt come, and there beware the rushing whirl, Lest it should come upon thee suddenly, And sweep thee onward with the cloud-rack wild;][187] Crossing the sea-surf till thou come at last Unto Kisthene's Gorgoneian plains, Where dwell the grey-haired virgin Phorkides,[188] Three, swan-shaped, with one eye between them all And but one tooth; whom nor the sun beholds With radiant beams, nor yet the moon by night: And near them are their wingèd sisters three, The Gorgons, serpent-tressed, and hating men, Whom mortal wight may not behold and live. 820 *Such is one ill I bid thee guard against; Now hear another monstrous sight: Beware The sharp-beaked hounds of Zeus that never bark,[189] The Gryphons, and the one-eyed, mounted host Of Arimaspians, who around the stream That flows o'er gold, the ford of Pluto, dwell:[190] Draw not thou nigh to them. But distant land Thou shalt approach, the swarthy tribes who dwell By the sun's fountain,[191] Æthiopia's stream: By its banks wend thy way until thou come To that great fall where from the Bybline hills 830 The Neilos pours its pure and holy flood; And it shall guide thee to Neilotic land, Three-angled, where, O Io, 'tis decreed For thee and for thy progeny to found A far-off colony. And if of this Aught seem to thee as stammering speech obscure, Ask yet again and learn it thoroughly: Far more of leisure have I than I like.

_Chor._ If thou hast aught to add, aught left untold Of her sore-wasting wanderings, speak it out; 840 But if thou hast said all, then grant to us The boon we asked. Thou dost not, sure, forget it.

_Prom._ The whole course of her journeying she hath heard, And that she know she hath not heard in vain I will tell out what troubles she hath borne Before she came here, giving her sure proof Of these my words. The greater bulk of things I will pass o'er, and to the very goal Of all thy wanderings go. For when thou cam'st To the Molossian plains, and by the grove[192] Of lofty-ridged Dodona, and the shrine Oracular of Zeus Thesprotian, 850 And the strange portent of the talking oaks, By which full clearly, not in riddle dark, Thou wast addressed as noble spouse of Zeus,— If aught of pleasure such things give to thee,— Thence strung to frenzy, thou did'st rush along The sea-coast's path to Rhea's mighty gulf,[193] In backward way from whence thou now art vexed, And for all time to come that reach of sea, Know well, from thee Ionian shall be called, To all men record of thy journeyings. 860 These then are tokens to thee that my mind Sees somewhat more than that is manifest.

What follows (_to the Chorus_) I will speak to you and her In common, on the track of former words Returning once again. A city stands, Canôbos, at its country's furthest bound, Hard by the mouth and silt-bank of the Nile; There Zeus shall give thee back thy mind again,[194] With hand that works no terror touching thee,— Touch only—and thou then shalt bear a child Of Zeus begotten, Epaphos, “Touch-born,” 870 Swarthy of hue, whose lot shall be to reap The whole plain watered by the broad-streamed Neilos: And in the generation fifth from him A household numbering fifty shall return Against their will to Argos, in their flight From wedlock with their cousins.[195] And they too, (Kites but a little space behind the doves) With eager hopes pursuing marriage rites Beyond pursuit shall come; and God shall grudge To give up their sweet bodies. And the land Pelasgian[196] shall receive them, when by stroke Of woman's murderous hand these men shall lie Smitten to death by daring deed of night: 880 For every bride shall take her husband's life, And dip in blood the sharp two-edgèd sword (So to my foes may Kypris show herself!)[197] Yet one of that fair band shall love persuade Her husband not to slaughter, and her will Shall lose its edge; and she shall make her choice Rather as weak than murderous to be known. And she at Argos shall a royal seed Bring forth (long speech 'twould take to tell this clear) 890 Famed for his arrows, who shall set me free[198] From these my woes. Such was the oracle Mine ancient mother Themis, Titan-born, Gave to me; but the manner and the means,— That needs a lengthy tale to tell the whole, And thou can'st nothing gain by learning it.

_Io._ Eleleu! Oh, Eleleu![199] The throbbing pain inflames me, and the mood Of frenzy-smitten rage; The gadfly's pointed sting, Not forged with fire, attacks, And my heart beats against my breast with fear. 900 Mine eyes whirl round and round: Out of my course I'm borne By the wild spirit of fierce agony, And cannot curb my lips, And turbid speech at random dashes on Upon the waves of dread calamity.

STROPHE I

_Chor._ Wise, very wise was he Who first in thought conceived this maxim sage, And spread it with his speech,[200]— That the best wedlock is with equals found, And that a craftsman, born to work with hands, Should not desire to wed Or with the soft luxurious heirs of wealth, 910 Or with the race that boast their lineage high.

ANTISTROPHE I

Oh ne'er, oh ne'er, dread Fates, May ye behold me as the bride of Zeus, The partner of his couch, Nor may I wed with any heaven-born spouse! For I shrink back, beholding Io's lot Of loveless maidenhood, Consumed and smitten low exceedingly By the wild wanderings from great Hera sent!

STROPHE II

To me, when wedlock is on equal terms, 920 It gives no cause to fear: Ne'er may the love of any of the Gods, The strong Gods, look on me With glance I cannot 'scape!

ANTISTROPHE II

That fate is war that none can war against, Source of resourceless ill; Nor know I what might then become of me: I see not how to 'scape The counsel deep of Zeus.

_Prom._ Yea, of a truth shall Zeus, though stiff of will, Be brought full low. Such bed of wedlock now Is he preparing, one to cast him forth 930 In darkness from his sovereignty and throne. And then the curse his father Cronos spake Shall have its dread completion, even that He uttered when he left his ancient throne; And from these troubles no one of the Gods But me can clearly show the way to 'scape. I know the time and manner: therefore now Let him sit fearless, in his peals on high Putting his trust, and shaking in his hands His darts fire-breathing. Nought shall they avail To hinder him from falling shamefully 940 A fall intolerable. Such a combatant He arms against himself, a marvel dread, Who shall a fire discover mightier far Than the red levin, and a sound more dread Than roaring of the thunder, and shall shiver That plague sea-born that causeth earth to quake, The trident, weapon of Poseidon's strength: And stumbling on this evil, he shall learn How far apart a king's lot from a slave's.

_Chor._ What thou dost wish thou mutterest against Zeus.

_Prom._ Things that shall be, and things I wish, I speak. 950

_Chor._ And must we look for one to master Zeus?

_Prom._ Yea, troubles harder far than these are his.

_Chor._ Art not afraid to vent such words as these?

_Prom._ What can I fear whose fate is not to die?

_Chor._ But He may send on thee worse pain than this.

_Prom._ So let Him do: nought finds me unprepared.

_Chor._ Wisdom is theirs who Adrasteia worship.[201]

_Prom._ Worship then, praise and flatter him that rules; My care for Zeus is nought, and less than nought: Let Him act, let Him rule this little while, 960 E'en as He will; for long He shall not rule Over the Gods. But lo! I see at hand The courier of the Gods, the minister Of our new sovereign. Doubtless he has come To bring me tidings of some new device.

_Enter_ HERMES

_Herm._ Thee do I speak to,—thee, the teacher wise, The bitterly o'er-bitter, who 'gainst Gods Hast sinned in giving gifts to short-lived men— I speak to thee, the filcher of bright fire. The Father bids thee say what marriage thou Dost vaunt, and who shall hurl Him from his might; And this too not in dark mysterious speech, 970 But tell each point out clearly. Give me not, Prometheus, task of double journey. Zeus Thou see'st, is not with such words appeased.

_Prom._ Stately of utterance, full of haughtiness Thy speech, as fits a messenger of Gods. Ye yet are young in your new rule, and think To dwell in painless towers. Have I not Seen two great rulers driven forth from thence?[202] And now the third, who reigneth, I shall see In basest, quickest fall. Seem I to thee 980 To shrink and quail before these new-made Gods? Far, very far from that am I. But thou, Track once again the path by which thou camest; Thou shalt learn nought of what thou askest me.

_Herm._ It was by such self-will as this before That thou did'st bring these sufferings on thyself.

_Prom._ I for my part, be sure, would never change My evil state for that thy bondslave's lot.

_Herm._ To be the bondslave of this rock, I trow, Is better than to be Zeus' trusty herald! 990

_Prom._ So it is meet the insulter to insult.

_Herm._ Thou waxest proud, 'twould seem, of this thy doom.

_Prom._ Wax proud! God grant that I may see my foes Thus waxing proud, and thee among the rest!

_Herm._ Dost blame me then for thy calamities?

_Prom._ In one short sentence—all the Gods I hate, Who my good turns with evil turns repay.

_Herm._ Thy words prove thee with no slight madness plagued.

_Prom._ If to hate foes be madness, mad I am.

_Herm._ Not one could bear thee wert thou prosperous. 1000

_Prom._ Ah me!

_Herm._ That word is all unknown to Zeus.

_Prom._ Time waxing old can many a lesson teach.

_Herm._ Yet thou at least hast not true wisdom learnt.

_Prom._ I had not else addressed a slave like thee.

_Herm._ Thou wilt say nought the Father asks, 'twould seem.

_Prom._ Fine debt I owe him, favour to repay.

_Herm._ Me as a boy thou scornest then, forsooth.

_Prom._ And art thou not a boy, and sillier far, If that thou thinkest to learn aught from me? There is no torture nor device by which 1010 Zeus can impel me to disclose these things Before these bonds that outrage me be loosed. Let then the blazing levin-flash be hurled; With white-winged snow-storm and with earth-born thunders Let Him disturb and trouble all that is; Nought of these things shall force me to declare Whose hand shall drive him from his sovereignty.

_Herm._ See if thou findest any help in this.

_Prom._ Long since all this I've seen, and formed my plans. 1020

_Herm._ O fool, take heart, take heart at last in time, To form right thoughts for these thy present woes.

_Prom._ Like one who soothes a wave, thy speech in vain Vexes my soul. But deem not thou that I, Fearing the will of Zeus, shall e'er become As womanised in mind, or shall entreat Him whom I greatly loathe, with upturned hand, In woman's fashion, from these bonds of mine To set me free. Far, far am I from that.

_Herm._ It seems that I, saying much, shall speak in vain; For thou in nought by prayers art pacified, Or softened in thy heart, but like a colt 1030 Fresh harnessed, thou dost champ thy bit, and strive, And fight against the reins. Yet thou art stiff In weak device; for self-will, by itself, In one who is not wise, is less than nought. Look to it, if thou disobey my words, How great a storm and triple wave of ills,[203] Not to be 'scaped, shall come on thee; for first, With thunder and the levin's blazing flash The Father this ravine of rock shall crush, And shall thy carcase hide, and stern embrace Of stony arms shall keep thee in thy place. 1040 And having traversed space of time full long, Thou shalt come back to light, and then his hound, The wingèd hound of Zeus, the ravening eagle, Shall greedily make banquet of thy flesh, Coming all day an uninvited guest, And glut himself upon thy liver dark. And of that anguish look not for the end, Before some God shall come to bear thy woes, And will to pass to Hades' sunless realm, And the dark cloudy depths of Tartaros.[204] 1050 Wherefore take heed. No feigned boast is this, But spoken all too truly; for the lips Of Zeus know not to speak a lying speech, But will perform each single word. And thou, Search well, be wise, nor think that self-willed pride Shall ever better prove than counsel good.

_Chor._ To us doth Hermes seem to utter words Not out of season; for he bids thee quit Thy self-willed pride and seek for counsel good. Hearken thou to him. To the wise of soul It is foul shame to sin persistently. 1060

_Prom._ To me who knew it all He hath this message borne; And that a foe from foes Should suffer is not strange. Therefore on me be hurled The sharp-edged wreath of fire; And let heaven's vault be stirred With thunder and the blasts Of fiercest winds; and Earth From its foundations strong, E'en to its deepest roots, Let storm-wind make to rock; And let the Ocean wave, With wild and foaming surge, Be heaped up to the paths 1070 Where move the stars of heaven; And to dark Tartaros Let Him my carcase hurl, With mighty blasts of force: Yet me He shall not slay.

_Herm._ Such words and thoughts from one Brain-stricken one may hear. What space divides his state From frenzy? What repose Hath he from maddened rage? But ye who pitying stand And share his bitter griefs, 1080 Quickly from hence depart, Lest the relentless roar Of thunder stun your soul.

_Chor._ With other words attempt To counsel and persuade, And I will hear: for now Thou hast this word thrust in That we may never bear. How dost thou bid me train My soul to baseness vile? With him I will endure Whatever is decreed. Traitors I've learnt to hate, Nor is there any plague 1090 That more than this I loathe.

_Herm._ Nay then, remember ye What now I say, nor blame Your fortune: never say That Zeus hath cast you down To evil not foreseen. Not so; ye cast yourselves: For now with open eyes, Not taken unawares, In Atè's endless net Ye shall entangled be By folly of your own.

[_A pause, and then flashes of lightning and peals of thunder_[205]

_Prom._ Yea, now in very deed, No more in word alone, The earth shakes to and fro, And the loud thunder's voice Bellows hard by, and blaze The flashing levin-fires; And tempests whirl the dust, And gusts of all wild winds On one another leap, In wild conflicting blasts, And sky with sea is blent: Such is the storm from Zeus 1110 That comes as working fear, In terrors manifest. O Mother venerable! O Æther! rolling round The common light of all, See'st thou what wrongs I bear?

Footnote 136:

The scene seems at first an exception to the early conventional rule, which forbade the introduction of a third actor on the Greek stage. But it has been noticed that (1) Force does not speak, and (2) Prometheus does not speak till Strength and Force have retired, and that it is therefore probable that the whole work of nailing is done on a lay figure or effigy of some kind, and that one of the two who had before taken part in the dialogue then speaks behind it in the character of Prometheus. So the same actor must have appeared in succession as Okeanos, Io, and Hermes.

Footnote 137:

Prometheus (_Forethought_) is the son of Themis (_Right_) the second occupant of the Pythian Oracle (_Eumen_. v. 2). His sympathy with man leads him to impart the gift which raised them out of savage animal life, and for this Zeus, who appears throughout the play as a hard taskmaster, sentences him to fetters. Hephæstos, from whom this fire had been stolen, has a touch of pity for him. Strength, who comes as the servant, not of Hephæstos, but of Zeus himself, acts, as such, with merciless cruelty.

Footnote 138:

The generalised statement refers to Zeus, as having but recently expelled Cronos from his throne in Heaven.

Footnote 139:

Hephæstos, as the great fire-worker, had taught Prometheus to use the fire which he afterwards bestowed on men.

Footnote 140:

Perhaps, “All might is ours except o'er Gods to rule.”

Footnote 141:

The words indicate that the effigy of Prometheus, now nailed to the rock, was, as being that of a Titan, of colossal size.

Footnote 142:

The touch is characteristic as showing that here, as in the _Eumenides_, Æschylos relied on the horribleness of the masks, as part of the machinery of his plays.

Footnote 143:

The silence of Prometheus up to this point was partly, as has been said, consequent on the conventional laws of the Greek drama, but it is also a touch of supreme insight into the heroic temper. In the presence of his torturers, the Titan will not utter even a groan. When they are gone, he appeals to the sympathy of Nature.

Footnote 144:

The legend is from Hesiod (_Theogon._, v. 567). The fennel, or _narthex_, seems to have been a large umbelliferous plant, with a large stem filled with a sort of pith, which was used when dry as tinder. Stalks were carried as wands (the _thyrsi_) by the men and women who joined in Bacchanalian processions. In modern botany, the name is given to the plant which produces Asafœtida, and the stem of which, from its resinous character, would burn freely, and so connect itself with the Promethean myth. On the other hand, the Narthex Asafœtida is found at present only in Persia, Afghanistan, and the Punjaub.

Footnote 145:

The ocean nymphs, like other divine ones, would be anointed with ambrosial unguents, and the odour would be wafted before them by the rustling of their wings. This too we may think of as part of the “stage effects” of the play.

Footnote 146:

The words are not those of a vague terror only. The sufferer knows that his tormentor is to come to him before long on wings, and therefore the sound as of the flight of birds is full of terrors.

Footnote 147:

By the same stage mechanism the Chorus remains in the air till verse 280, when, at the request of Prometheus, they alight.

Footnote 148:

Here, as throughout the play, the poet puts into the mouth of his _dramatis personæ_ words which must have seemed to the devouter Athenians sacrilegious enough to call for an indictment before the Areiopagos. But the final play of the Trilogy came, we may believe, as the _Eumenides_ did in its turn, as a reconciliation of the conflicting thoughts that rise in men's minds out of the seeming anomalies of the world.

Footnote 149:

The words leave it uncertain whether Themis is identified with Earth, or, as in the _Eumenides_ (v. 2) distinguished from her. The Titans as a class, then, children of Okeanos and Chthôn (another name for _Land_ or _Earth_), are the kindred rather than the brothers of Prometheus.

Footnote 150:

The generalising words here, as in v. 35, appeal to the Athenian hatred of all that was represented by the words _tyrant_ and _tyranny_.

Footnote 151:

The state described is that of men who “through fear of death are all their lifetime subject to bondage.” That state, the parent of all superstition, fostered the slavish awe in which Zeus delighted. Prometheus, representing the active intellect of man, bestows new powers, new interests, new hopes, which at last divert them from that fear.

Footnote 152:

The home of Okeanos was in the far west, at the boundary of the great stream surrounding the whole world, from which he took his name.

Footnote 153:

One of the sayings of the Seven Sages, already recognised and quoted as a familiar proverb.

Footnote 154:

See note on _Agam._ 1602.

Footnote 155:

In the mythos, Okeanos had given his daughter Hesione in marriage to Prometheus after the theft of fire, and thus had identified himself with his transgression.

Footnote 156:

In the _Theogony_ of Hesiod (v. 509), Prometheus and Atlas appear as the sons of two sisters. As other Titans were thought of as buried under volcanoes, so this one was identified with the mountain which had been seen by travellers to Western Africa, or in the seas beyond it, rising like a column to support the vault of heaven. In Herodotos (iv. 174) and all later writers, the name is given to the chain of mountains in Lybia, as being the “pillar of the firmament;” but Humboldt and others identify it with the lonely peak of Teneriffe, as seen by Phœnikian or Hellenic voyagers. Teneriffe, too, like most of the other Titan mountains, was at one time volcanic. Homer (_Odyss._