Prometheus Bound

- Aeschylus’
Cast:

Power
Force (mute)
Hephaestus, the smith god
Prometheus, god of fire
Oceanus, god of the sea Io
Hermes
Chorus of the daughters of Oceanus (Oceanids)
--------------------------------------------------------------

A bleak rough mountain face in the Caucasus.

POWER and FORCE enter leading their prisoner PROMETHEUS.

HEPHAESTUS accompanies them.

POWER
We’ve come to the ends of the earth,
to Scythia, barren and deserted.
Now, Hephaestus, carry out the orders
of your father Zeus: shackle our criminal
here to this towering cliff, in unbreakable
chains made of adamant. He stole your flower,
the shining fire of creativity,
and gave it to Man. This was his crime:
he must pay the penalty to the gods
and learn to love Zeus’s tyranny 10
instead of his absurd devotion to Man.

HEPHAESTUS
Power and Force, you’re perfect representatives
for carrying out the orders of Zeus:
nothing is beyond you. I can’t bring myself
to chain a relative by force to this icy cliff,
but I have to do this since I know well. It’s no
light offense to disobey commands from Zeus.

To Prometheus

Wise son of Themis who advises well,

with both of us unwilling, I must chain you
to this rocky cliff in bronze fetters which 20
no one can release, where you will never hear
the voice of Man, nor see his shape, but the
sun will beat down mercilessly, withering
your fair skin. You will be happy when Night
in her starry robes will hide the sun’s bright rays,
but they will return at dawn to melt the frozen dew.
Every day your cares will weigh you down,
for the man to release you is not yet born.

Look what you earned for loving Man too much;

you were a god who defied gods and gave
gifts to Man, far beyond what they deserved. 30
So you are posted to guard this joyless cliff,
upright, sleepless: you can’t bend your knees.
You will shed many a useless tear, and cry out
your sorrow, but Zeus has a heart of stone,
like all tyrants who just have come to power.

POWER
Why do you delay, and waste your pity?
Shouldn’t you hate this enemy of the gods,
since he gave to men the power that is rightly yours?

HEPHAESTUS
Blood is a strong tie, and so is friendship.

POWER
Yes. But how can you disobey the orders 40
of your father? Aren’t you more afraid of him?

HEPHAESTUS
You always like to throw taunts in my face!

POWER
You can moan all you want, but you can’t
release him. Don’t waste your valuable time.

HEPHAESTUS
I curse my skill. My craft is a heavy burden.

POWER
Don’t despise your craft! It’s clearly not to blame
for this present problem.

HEPHAESTUS
I wish someone else were chosen to do this.

POWER
We all have to obey orders, except
the god who rules: for no one is free but Zeus. 50

HEPHAESTUS
What we’re doing proves it; you’re right.

POWER
Hurry and put the chains in place. You don’t want
our father to see you wasting time.
 HEPHAESTUS
Here are his handcuffs and chains. Are you blind?

POWER
Put them on and use your strength to hammer
them into the cliff; make sure he’s secure.

HEPHAESTUS
There. I’m at it. He cannot escape without help.

POWER
Drive them in deeper. Make sure everything is tight,
He’s very clever at wriggling out of trouble.

HEPHAESTUS
That arm’s secure; he won’t escape those chains. 60

POWER
Secure this one too: he has to learn he’s nothing
by comparison to Zeus, for all his cleverness.

HEPHAESTUS
He’s the only one who can criticize my work.

POWER
Now drive this stake of adamantine
right through his chest with all your force.

HEPHAESTUS
Oh, Prometheus, I weep for your sufferings.

POWER
Wingeing again? Pitying Zeus’s enemies, are you?
You’d better watch out for your own day of suffering.

HEPHAESTUS
You see a sight that calls for tears.

POWER
I see a criminal being punished. Now, attach 70
those iron bands around his waist to the rock.

HEPHAESTUS
Enough! I’m doing it! I’ve had enough of you bossing me!
 POWER
You’ll never shut me up until you get it done!
I’ll even force you. Chain his legs there!

HEPHAESTUS
There. It’s done. It was easy.

POWER
Drive the spikes in with all your might.
The one who sees all is a critical judge.

HEPHAESTUS
What you order is as ugly as you are.

POWER
Oh isn’t he a dainty little thing! You can’t blame me
for an iron will and violent moods. That’s what I am! 80

HEPHAESTUS
Let’s go then. The net that holds him is secure.

POWER
Now you can be as proud as you like, and
keep on stealing the gods’ treasures to give
to your precious men, these creatures of a day.
See what help they can give you now! What a name,
Prometheus, “thinking things out in advance.”
Now’s your time to figure some way out of this.

Exeunt POWER and HEPHAESUS and FORCE.

PROMETHEUS

I call on you bright light of day; swift-winged

breezes; you flowing rivers; unquenchable
laughter of the sea’s waves; Earth, mother of all, 90
and lastly, circle of the sun, that sees all things.

See a god’s suffering,

Inflicted on me by other gods.
I shall be tortured for centuries.
This is the ugly sentence passed
On me by the lord of the gods.
Pheu! Pheu! I weep for what I suffer now,
And will suffer in years to come.
No savior is yet in sight to end this misery. 100
But why do I say this? I know all things
that are to come; I see endless agony
in store for me. I must try to bear it
as easily as I can, since I know
that no force can stop necessity.
Both speaking and silence are beyond me.
because I gave a gift to men, necessity
yokes me to misery. I hid my stolen prize,
fire, in a hollow fennel stalk: it taught men
all the arts and gave them great resources. 110
that’s why I suffer these torments,
nailed with chains under an open sky.

Oh, misery!
What do I hear? What scent hovers on the wind?
I still cannot see what it is. Human?
Divine? Both? Who comes to the edge of the
World to stare at my torment, and for what
Reason? See a chained god who is condemned
To misery, enemy of Zeus, and all 120
The gods who frequent his court,
Just because I loved Man too much.
Pheu! Pheu!
What is this rustling that I hear? Birds?
The light fluttering of wings pipes
Through the air. I am terrified of
Everything that approaches.

Enter CHORUS of the Daughters of OCEANUS.

CHORUS

Don’t be afraid! We are friends!

We flew to this place as fast as we could,
After reluctant permission from our father. 130
Swift blowing breezes sped us on our way;
The sound of the pounded iron
Reached us deep in our caves,
And drove away our proper modesty
Which fled in fright; we rushed away
So quickly in our winged chariot,
We left our sandals behind.

PROMETHEUS
Aiai! Aiai!
Children of Tethys, the mother of many,
And Oceanus, whose sleepless stream 140
Circles the earth,
Look on me, see what chains
Bind me tightly
On the tip of this cliff
Hanging over a deep chasm
Where I am posted to keep dire watch.

CHORUS
I see you, Prometheus.
I fear for you. I see
Through a mist of tears
Your wasted body,
Fettered and hanging
On this cliff.
New gods run Olympus now;
Zeus secures his unlawful power 150
By new laws; he obliterates
What once was mighty.

PROMETHEUS
I wish Zeus had thrust me below the earth,
Into the bottomless pit of Tartarus,
Beyond Hades that welcomes the dead.
Although he fasten me brutally
With unyielding chains,
At least no god, or any other might come
To gloat over me; then I would not
Have to endure the scorn of my enemies
As I do now, hanging here, a plaything of winds.

CHORUS
What god is so cruel 160
As to rejoice at what you suffer?
Who does not sympathize with you except Zeus?
But he nurses his anger in his inflexible mind,
While he oppresses the offspring of Uranus;
He will not end this
Until his heart is satisfied,
Or someone by some clever trick
Overthrows his adamantine rule.

PROMETHEUS
There will come a time, although I’m
Tortured, constrained by strong chains,
When this Leader of the Immortals
Will need me to reveal the new plot 170
To deprive him of both rule and honors.
But he will get nothing from me.
No honeyed words or charms,
Nor grim threats will pry out
This secret until he releases me
From this savage bondage
And makes reparation
For all the abuse I’ve had to suffer.

CHORUS
You’re a bold one, and
Are not subdued by your bitter pain,
But you speak a bit too freely. 180
Fear pierces my heart
And I am afraid what will happen to you.
Into what harbor
Will you steer your ship
To end your voyage of pain?
The child of Cronus is stubborn
And his heart knows no sympathy.

PROMETHEUS
I know how cruel Zeus is,
And how he holds justice fast in his fist,
But one day his thoughts will soften,
When he is broken by my secret.
When his blind rage calms down, 190
He will rush into my willing arms
To welcome his newfound friend.

CHORUS
Tell me everything: on what charge
has Zeus convicted you? Why does he
dishonor you this way, torturing you bitterly.
Tell us, unless it hurts you to tell the story.

PROMETHEUS
It is painful to speak but also painful
to keep silent; either way I suffer.
When the gods first became angry,
and opposed each other, some demanding 200
Cronus be unseated in favor
of Zeus, and others the opposite,
claiming that Zeus should never rule,
then I gave the best advice to the Titans,
those children of Heaven and Earth,
but they could not be convinced.
They scorned my clever stratagem,
and thought they could easily seize power,
They arrogantly trusted in their own strength.
My mother Themis, or Gaia (she has 210
many names) foretold to me (and not just once)
how the future would turn out, and the victory
would come from strategy, not from force. I explained
this in detail to the Titans but they rejected
my whole plan. From all the choices left, I thought
it was best that I and my mother go
over to Zeus’s side: we were willing and
he willingly welcomed us. So because
of my advice, the dark depths of
Tartarus hide old Cronus along with 220
his allies. Zeus owes me for his being
king of the gods, and you see how
he pays me back with evil. This is
a tyrant’s disease, not to trust his friends.

But you asked why he tortures me this way,

so I’ll answer that clearly for you.
As soon as he sat on his father’s throne,
he gave to all the gods special privileges
and divided up their rule, but
poor Man didn’t even cross his mind. 230
In fact, he wanted to destroy him
and create some new race. No one objected,
except me. I was the only one to have
the courage to save mortals from
being crushed and sent off to Hades.
That’s why I’m twisted in pain,
terrible to suffer, and pitiful to see.
I had pity on Man, but I am not
given pity for myself: I am
pitilessly tortured and this 240
spectacle of my misery indicts Zeus.

CHORUS
Anyone whose heart would not pity you
for your suffering is either made of iron or stone.
I wish I had never seen how you are abused,
but now that I do, my heart shares your pain.
 PROMETHEUS
Yes. My friends have pity on me.

CHORUS
Is that really all you did?

PROMETHEUS
I made it so they could not foretell their own deaths.

CHORUS
What drug did you give them to cure this disease?

PROMETHEUS
I gave them blind hope. 250

CHORUS
That’s a great gift for mortals.

PROMETHEUS
I also gave them fire.

CHORUS
Now these creatures of a day have splendid fire?

PROMETHEUS
Yes. They will learn many skills from it.

CHORUS
So this was why Zeus condemned you…

PROMETHEUS
He tortures me, and the pain never lets go.

CHORUS
Do you see no end to this?

PROMETHEUS
No. I’m a victim of his whim.

CHORUS
What are your thoughts? Any hope?
Don’t you see that you were wrong? I won’t go into 260
the details; too painful for you. Let’s change
the subject. You should find some means of escape.
 PROMETHEUS
It’s easy for someone who walks on the safe side
to give advice to those who fail. I knew
what would happen when I did what I did,
but I did it willingly; I won’t deny it.
By helping mortals I know I harmed myself.
What I didn’t know was how I would be
punished: left to waste away, chained to an over-
hanging cliff in a desolate, deserted place. 270
I beg you not to cry over my pain, but come down
and listen to what fate has in store for me:
I’ll tell you the whole story from start to finish.
Please consent to this, say yes, and show pity to
someone who is struggling. For suffering wanders
from one to another, touching each man in turn.

CHORUS
Your appeal has not fallen on deaf ears,
Prometheus.
My nimble foot will step
Onto this rough ground, 280
Leaving my swift chariot,
And the pure air where birds fly.
I am eager to hear all your story.

Enter OCEANUS on a Hippocamp, a winged horse with sea-serpent tail

OCEANUS
I have reached the end of a long journey
To see you Prometheus,
I steered this swift-winged bird
With no bit at all, simply by my will.
First of all, I sympathize with your suffering;
This is what I should do,
Since I am your relative. 290
Even if we weren’t related, there’s no one
I respect more than you.
I’m telling you the truth.
I’m not a flatterer, who makes empty claims.
Tell me how I can help you.
You’ll never say you had a more loyal friend
Than Oceanus.

PROMETHEUS
So what have we here?
Have you come to gawk at my misery?
How could you leave your Ocean 300
and the rock-roofed caves you carved out
to visit this land of iron? Did you come
to ogle me and add your pity to my misery?
Enjoy the spectacle: see how this friend of Zeus
who helped him establish his rule,
is twisted in pain as my reward.

OCEANUS
I see, Prometheus, and I am prepared to
give you advice, although I know you are wise.
Know yourself, and learn to fit in with the
new ways, for the ruler of the gods is
also new. If you keep on hurling harsh,
sharp words, Zeus may hear, even though he
is far away, throned on high, and then
your present misery will seem like child’s play.
Oh you poor creature, calm your anger, and try
to find some way out of your predicament.
Perhaps you’ve heard all this already,
but what you suffer is just because of
your boastful proud words. Even now,
you have not learned humility from your pain; 320
and you go on adding insult to injury.
Learn from me, and don’t chafe at your bit;
your leader is cruel but he holds absolute power:
he answers to no one. So I’m going now
to see, as far as I am able, whether I can find
some release for you from this suffering.
But you hold your tongue and check your pride.
For all your wisdom, don’t you realize yet
that there is a price to pay for speaking too freely?

PROMETHEUS
I envy your ability to keep yourself free 330
from blame, although you dared to share my suffering.
So forget me now, and don’t let it bother you.
Whatever you do you will not persuade Zeus.
That’s not his nature. Just watch out for yourself.

OCEANUS
You’re much better at advising others,
rather than yourself. I have proof, not hearsay.
Don’t try to stop me from what I’m going to do.
I’m sure, yes, sure, Zeus will grant me what I ask,
that you will be released from your troubles.
 PROMETHEUS
I praise you for this, and I’ll never stop praising 340
your eagerness to help. But you really
shouldn’t bother. If you do insist
on working on my behalf, it will be
useless to me. Keep quiet, and protect
yourself. Even if I suffer, I would
not want everyone to do so. No, indeed,
since I know what happened to Atlas,
and how he stands carrying on his
shoulders the heavens above,
a weight that constantly wears him down. 350
I also pitied wild Typhon, born of
Mother Earth. That fierce monster of the hundred
heads, who lived in the Cilician caves, finally
was defeated by force. He stood against all the
gods, hissing terror out from his huge jaws,
a tremendous blazing fire shot out of his eyes:
violence dedicated to destroying Zeus’s rule.
Zeus hurled his unsleeping missile; lightning
swept down with its breath of flame, and put a
stop to his boastful taunts; for the first time 360
he felt fear. Pierced to the heart, he burnt to ash,
his life strength consumed by the lightning bolt.
Now his weak sprawling body lies next to
the straits of the sea weighed down by
Aetna’s roots while Hephaestus sits on the
mountain peak and pounds the glowing metal.
From there one day rivers of fires will burst out
and chew up with wild jaws the level fields
of Sicily, known for its fair fruits. Such rage
Typhon, although burnt by Zeus’s thunderbolt, 370
will vomit up in volleys the hot spears of
a fierce firestorm. But you don’t need me
to teach you this. Save yourself in any
way you can. I’ll stay here in my misery
and drink it to the dregs until the
mind of Zeus chooses to calm its fury.

OCEANUS
Don’t you know, Prometheus, that words
can heal a mind diseased with passion?

PROMETHEUS
Gradually in time one can soften the heart,
but no one can use force to limit a swelling anger. 380

OCEANUS
What is wrong with my eagerness
to help, when matched by energy? Tell me.

PROMETHEUS
Just wasted effort and thoughtless foolishness.

OCEANUS
Trust my folly then, since it is best
for a man truly wise to be thought a fool.

PROMETHEUS
But I shall be considered the one to blame.

OCEANUS
Your words show me it’s time for me to leave.

PROMETHEUS
Yes. Don’t let your moaning incite anger against you.

OCEANUS
From him who sits on his almighty throne? He’s new, you know.

PROMETHEUS
However new, avoid having his heart turn against you. 390

OCEANUS
Your own circumstance is my teacher.

PROMETHEUS
Fine, go, but remember what I’ve said.

OCEANUS
I’m as eager to go, as you are to send me off.
The wings of my four-legged bird already
beat the smooth path of sky; he’s eager
to curl up his knees in his stall at home.

Exit OCEANUS on his Hippocamp

CHORUS
I mourn your grim fate, Prometheus.
Tears flood from my eyes
To moisten my cheeks with
Their flowing stream. 400
Zeus rules tyrannically.
Making up his rules as he goes,
Scornfully lording
His might over
The older gods.

The whole earth groans and weeps;

Lamented is the splendor of your
Former honor,
Honor that was yours
And your brothers’. 410
All those
Who live in holy Asia
Share your suffering;
They add their tears to the lament

As do those who live in Colchis,

Amazons, fearless in battle,
And the many Scythians
Who live in that far-flung place
Next to the Maeotic Lake.

And the war-seasoned flower of Arabia, 420

Who live in a lofty city
In mountains near the Caucasus—
A fierce army that thunders its war cry
In battles with sharpened spears.

Only one other Titan have I seen,

A god suffering
In relentless constraint,
Atlas, the strongest of all,
Who holds the heavens on his back
And groans. 430

The falling waves shout out their splashing lament;

Black Hades answers by rumbling
Deep under the earth,
Rivers with clear-flowing streams
Moan as they pity your pain.

PROMETHEUS
Do not think I am prideful or scorn you
because I am silent, but my heart is stung
by the thought of how I am abused in this way.
I, no one else, was the one to divide the powers
and privileges among these nouveau gods. 440
But I won’t go over this tale; you’ve already
heard it. Listen instead to the tale of
suffering men, how they knew nothing before me,
but I educated them and taught them to think.
I am not saying this as a reproach to men,
but to show how much I helped them.
First of all, they had eyes, but could not see,
they had ears, but could not understand;
they wandered like dreams throughout
their long lives, and created chaos in the world. 450
They did not know how to build houses
either of stone or wood as protection against the sun.
They lived deep within dark caves, and swarmed
the earth like throngs of ants. They could not
recognize the signs of winter, nor spring with its
flowers, nor fruit-laden summer, so they did
everything without any rational plan,
until I taught them to read the risings of stars
and their settings, which up to now they ignored.
I gave them numbers, that knowledge most 460
to be prized, and the art of writing words to help
memory, the mother of all the muses.
I first yoked beasts and made them work so they
could relieve Man’s back of his heaviest burdens.
I harnessed horses to the chariot and made
them respond to reins, a delight for the wealthy.
It was me who invented the ship with sails that
wanders the sea, a chariot for sailors.
All this, to my own misery, I dared to invent
and pass on to Man, but for all my cleverness 470
I could devise no escape from my present suffering.

CHORUS
You have suffered what you should never have
suffered. Now your mind wanders and, like a
bad physician, you are sick and in despair; you
cannot find any drug to heal your own disease.

PROMETHEUS
Hear the rest and you will be even more
amazed at the arts and inventions I
devised. The greatest was this: before,
if a man fell sick, there was no remedy—
nothing, no pill, ointment, nor drink—and without 480
drugs they wasted away. I showed them how
to mix healing medicines that could ward off
all diseases. I also gave them skills so that
they could predict the future: I showed them
which dreams were true; how to interpret
strange voices and sayings, and how to
understand chance meetings during travel.
I taught Man to understand the flight of the
taloned bird, what was beneficial, and
what meant harm, their daily lives, loves andhates, 490
and how they mate. Then I taught about the
smoothness of entrails, the right color of gall
so that it please the gods, and how to read
the liver’s lovely mottled lobe. I showed Man
thighbones wrapped in fat, and how to burn
the long backbone, and thus I taught Man the
obscure art of prophecy, sacrifice, and
the language of fire, which had not yet been
understood. But so much for that. Who could claim
before me that he discovered the hidden 500
treasures that lay buried under earth: bronze,
iron, silver and gold? No one. That’s clear,
unless some fool babbles nonsense. I’ll make
a long story short: all the arts and crafts
that Man possesses came from me, Prometheus,
the god you see suffering before you now.

CHORUS
You should not help men beyond what is right,
and think nothing of your own suffering, because
I hope one day that you will be released
from your chains and be the equal of Zeus. 510

PROMETHEUS
Not yet is fate destined to bring that about,
but only after years of my collapsing
under torture will I be released from my chains.
Art is never as strong as Necessity.

CHORUS
Who determines Necessity?

PROMETHEUS
The three fates, and the Furies who never forget.
 CHORUS
Is Zeus weaker than they are?

PROMETHEUS
He cannot escape what is destined to happen.

CHORUS
What is destined for him, except eternal rule?

PROMETHEUS
I’m not going to tell you this: don’t ask again. 520

CHORUS
It must be important if you conceal it.

PROMETHEUS
Talk about something else; it’s not the right time
to speak of this. This has to be kept secret,
because through it I shall gain release from these
humiliating chains and my suffering.

CHORUS
May Zeus, ruler of all things,
Never set his might against my will,
Nor may I delay in the holy sacrifice
Of cattle to honor the gods 530
Slaughtered beside the unquenchable stream
Of Ocean, my father, nor may I sin in word,
But let this wish remain secure and never vanish.

It is sweet to spend a long life

Fostering courageous hopes,
And fattening one’s heart in happiness.
But I shudder when I see you 540
Racked by a thousand pains.
You weren’t afraid of Zeus,
But you stubbornly loved Man too much, Prometheus.

The gift you gave yielded you nothing in return, my friend;

Tell me, where is there help?
How are these creatures of a day benefiting you now?
Do you see how weak they are, useless,
Like a dream in which
The blind race of Man sleeps forever. 550
Man can never second-guess the master plan of God.
I have learned this from witnessing
Your terrible fate,
Prometheus.
What a different song is this, from the one
That I sang around your bath and bed
To celebrate your marriage to the bride,
My sister Hesione, whom you persuaded
To share your bed as your wife. 560

Enter IO, crazed, wearing ox horns

What land is this? What people? Who do

I see hanging on this cliff
For the hail and rain to beat on his body?
What wrong did you do to merit this terrible punishment?
Tell me, where have I wandered in my misery?
To what land?
A, A, E, E (cries of anguish)
The gadfly stings me, a ghost of Argos,
Born of Earth. Keep far from my sight
That creature I fear,
The herdsman with one hundred eyes—
Those eyes with which he searches for me—
Not even the earth hides that sight, 570
But even from the underworld he hunts me,
Wretched as I am, driving me starving
Along the sandy shore of the sea.

The reed pipe fashioned with wax

Drones on and on a tune that urges sleep.
Io! Io! Popoi! Where does my far wandering
Take me now? Why, O child of Cronus?
What have I done to offend you that you torture me this way?
E! E!
Why do you drive this miserable creature 580
Mad with fear of the gadfly’s sting?
Consume me with flame;
Bury me in the earth, or feed me to sea monsters;
Oh lord, hear my prayer.
My wanderings over land and sea
Have tortured me enough, but I do not know
How to escape my own misery.
Do you hear the voice of this maiden with horns?

PROMETHEUS
How could I not hear this young girl, daughter
of Inachus, whom the gadfly drives mad? She 590
kindled the fire of love in Zeus’s heart, and now
Hera’s hate forces her to endless wandering.

IO
How do you know my father’s name?
Tell this wretched one, who you are.
Who is it that in his misery,
Correctly recognizes this miserable maiden? You name the
Heaven-sent disease that wastes me, that goad with a sting—
E! E!
That drives me bounding over endless lands
Tortured by a shameful hunger, 600
A victim of Hera’s angry scheme.
Who, of all those suffering, suffers as much as I?
Tell me clearly, what do I have yet to endure?
Is there a cure or drug to treat this disease?
Tell me if you know,
Speak out and tell this to a maiden wandering in misery.

PROMETHEUS
I shall tell you clearly what you want to know,
and I won’t use riddling language, but plain speech 610
that is right to use when speaking with friends.
You see Prometheus, who gave fire to Man.

IO
You have given a great gift to mortals,
poor Prometheus. Why are you punished this way?

PROMETHEUS
I have just gone over the long sad tale.

IO
Will you please tell me one thing, at least?

PROMETHEUS
Ask whatever you wish. You can learn it all from me.

IO
Who was it who nailed you to this cliff?

PROMETHEUS
Zeus ordered it, but Hephaestus carried it out.
 IO
What did you do wrong to earn this punishment? 620

PROMETHEUS
I’ve said enough on this subject.

IO
Then tell me where am I headed, and where will I end?
How long will this suffering continue?

PROMETHEUS
You would be better off not knowing.

IO
Please do not hide from me what I have yet to suffer.

PROMETHEUS
It’s not that I don’t want to tell you this…

IO
Why then do you hesitate to relate everything?

PROMETHEUS
I don’t begrudge you, but I don’t want to crush your heart.

IO
Do not be concerned about me. I do not ask for that.

PROMETHEUS
If you want me to speak so much, fine. Listen. 630

CHORUS
Not yet. I also want to share in this.
First we want to ask why she suffers this way.
We want her to tell us how this disaster happened.
Then you can reveal what she has yet to suffer.

PROMETHEUS
Io, you should grant them this favor, most of all
because they are sisters of your father.
It is good to tell a tale full of grief
about your sufferings when you are likely
to earn a gift of tears from your listeners.

IO
I can’t refuse. I’ll tell you clearly what 640
you want to know. Yet I’ll be ashamed when I speak
of the storm of misery that the gods sent,
the mutilation of my former beauty,
and from where destruction swooped down on me.
Visions came to me at night and spoke
flattering words: Maiden, fortunate above all,
why do you guard your virginity so long
when you could enjoy the greatest union possible?
Zeus has been struck by passion’s dart and
burns for you: he wishes sexual union. Child, 650
do not despise the bed of Zeus, but go now
to the rich meadows of Lerna where
your father’s cattle are sheltered, so that
you can satisfy Zeus’s love-struck glance.
These were the temptations that visited me night
after night, until I dared to tell my father
about the dreams that so obsessed me in my sleep.
He sent to Dodona and Delphi to
learn what he could do or say to satisfy 660
the will of the gods. Their answers were
dark riddles, unintelligible oracles
and could not be understood. But finally
there came a clear message to my father,
that he must drive me out of the house,
and let me wander at large like a sacred
animal to the ends of the earth; and if
he disobeyed, a lightning bolt would come
from Zeus utterly to destroy his race.
So he obeyed the commands of Apollo 670
and drove me away, thrusting me out
of the house against his will and mine;
Zeus’s whip forced him to carry this out.
Both my shape and mind were twisted;
you see my horns; driven by a stinging
gadfly I wildly leapt to the sweet water
of Cerchnea and Lerna’s spring. But
that herdsman born of Earth, Argos followed,
continually raging, tracking me with his many eyes.
Death pounced on him suddenly, but I am 680
still driven from land to land by this curse
sent to me from heaven. That’s my story.
Please tell me what trials await me. Don’t out
of pity sweeten the tale by telling me lies.
I say the worst plague of all afflictions
is a story that turns out to be untrue.
 CHORUS

Ea! Ea! No! Stop! Pheu!

Never, never, have I heard
Such a strange story,
Suffering hard to imagine, and hard to bear! 690
Outrageous—
A double goad to strike my heart.
Io, Io! What fate, what luck!
I shudder to see Io’s sufferings.

PROMETHEUS
It’s too soon for you to cry out or be afraid.
Wait until you hear the end of the story.

CHORUS
Continue. Tell me. It benefits the sick
to know clearly in advance the pain still to come.

PROMETHEUS
The story was easy up to now, since you 700
asked to hear her tell all the sufferings
that happened to her up to this point.
Now hear what lies ahead and what she still
must suffer because of Hera. And you,
Child of Inachus, listen to my tale,
so you know the end of your wanderings.
First, from here, go east, towards the rising sun
and over plains that have never known the plow,
until you reach the Scythian nomads,
skilled at the far-shooting bow, who live in houses 710
built on top of wagons that roll right along.
Don’t approach them, but stay close to the shore
against which the sea waves crash with a roar.
Go past their land where the Chalybes do
iron work, but be careful, because they are
savage, and don’t take kindly to strangers.
Then you will reach the river Hybristes,
true to its name. Don’t cross it: it’s difficult,
but walk along its bank until you reach the Caucasus,
tallest of all mountains, and from whose crest 720
the river cascades furiously down. You
cross the peak that almost touches the stars
and go south to where you reach the army of
Amazons, who hate all men; they will settle
Themiscyra, on the Thermodon, where
Salmydessus’ fierce jaw lies next to the sea,
hostile to sailors, wicked step-mother of ships.
The Amazons will gladly speed you on your way.
Then, at the narrow entrance to the swamp,
you will reach the Cimmerian Isthmus. Take heart, 730
and pass through the Maeotic channel; men
will tell tales of your passing and name the
Bosporus after you. You will be famous!
Next you will leave Europe and come to Asia.
Doesn’t it seem to you that the lord of the gods
is excessively cruel in every way? For
this god not only wanted to lure her into sexual
union, but then damned her to wandering.
Poor girl, you have found yourself the suitor
from hell, and the story you have heard was 740
only the beginning of a long tale to come.

IO
Io moi moi, e e!

PROMETHEUS
What? Moaning again? What are you going to do
when you hear all that lies in store for you?

CHORUS
You don’t mean to say that there’s more suffering to come?

PROMETHEUS
An unimaginable stormy sea of torture!

IO
Why should I continue to live? Why don’t
I throw myself from this jagged cliff, so that,
crashing to the ground, I make an end to
all my troubles? It’s better to die once, 750
than live an entire life suffering torment.

PROMETHEUS
I can see it would be impossible for
you to bear the agonies that I must
since I cannot die. I see no limit
to my suffering until Zeus himself
is thrown from his tyrannous rule.

IO
Will Zeus one day lose his power?
 PROMETHEUS
I think you would be pleased to see it happen.

IO
Of course, since I suffer because of Zeus.

PROMETHEUS
Then take heart from this, it will happen. 760

IO
Who will remove his scepter from him?

PROMETHEUS
He will do it himself, because he is foolish.

IO
How? Please tell me. That is, if it doesn’t hurt you.

PROMETHEUS
He will choose a sexual partner who will ruin him.

IO
A god? Or a mortal? If you can tell me, I want to know.

PROMETHEUS
Why do you ask? I can’t tell you that.

IO
Will a sexual partner seize his power from him?

PROMETHEUS
Yes. Because her child will be greater than the father.

IO
Can he do anything to avoid this?

PROMETHEUS
No. Unless I am released from these chains. 770

IO
Who could do that except Zeus?

PROMETHEUS
It is going to be one of your descendents.
 IO
What is this? A child of mine release you?

PROMETHEUS
The third child born after ten generations.

IO
Now I cannot understand what you are saying.

PROMETHEUS
So don’t ask about the full extent of your labors.

IO
Don’t promise to give me this, then take it back.

PROMETHEUS
I’ll give you a choice of two tales.

IO
What do you mean? Tell me so I can choose.

PROMETHEUS
I can either relate what is yet to come for you, 780
or tell you the story about who will rescue me.

CHORUS
Tell her one of those tales, and me the other.
Be generous, and don’t begrudge us this.
To her, tell of the wanderings that are left, and
tell me who will release you. I want to hear this.

PROMETHEUS
Well, since you are so eager, I won’t refuse
to give you an account of all that you still want to know.
First for you Io, I’ll explain the painful
wandering left—engrave it in your memory.
When you have crossed the stream that separates 790
the two continents, go to the flaming East,
where the sun walks, then cross the roaring sea
to reach the Gorgonian plains of Cisthene,
where the ancient daughters of Phorcys dwell,
three in the shape of swans, with one eye and one
shared tooth; the sun’s rays never shine on them
nor does the moon at night. Near them are the
snake-haired Gorgons, hated by men, whom no man
gazes upon and still draws the breath of life. 800
This is what I am warning you to guard against.
Now there’s something even more frightening to see.
Beware the sharp-beaked hounds of Zeus that don’t bark,
the Griffins, and the one-eyed army of Arimasps
who ride horses and live next to the stream of
Pluto, that flows with gold. Do not go close
to them. Next you will come to a faraway
land filled with dark-skinned people, who live
near the streams of the sun, and the river called
Aethiop. Go up its banks until you reach 810
the waterfall in the Bybline mountains
where the holy Nile jets out its sweet-tasting streams.
This will lead you to the triangular land
called Nilotis, where it is destined to found
your distant colony for you and your children.
If there is some of this you do not understand
or it is unclear, tell me and I shall explain:
for I have more leisure time than I would like.

CHORUS
If you left something out of her terrible
wandering, let me know. But if you have 820
related the entire account, then tell us
what we requested—I’m sure you remember.

PROMETHEUS
She has heard the end of all her journeying.
But so she knows that all I’ve said is genuine,
I shall go through all the troubles she had to
face to get to this place. I offer that as proof!
I shall leave out most of this dreary account,
but just tell what happened recently.
You will reach the Molossian plain,
and the steep ridge near Dodona, there 830
where Thesprotian Zeus holds his prophetic seat,
the incredible wonder of the speaking oaks,
where you were praised as the famous spouse
of Zeus. Does this please you to remember?
Then, driven by the gadfly’s sting, you came to
the shore of the great gulf of Rhea, but from
there you were driven backwards. Be assured
for the rest of time, a recess of the ocean
will be called by all men to come the Ionian
Sea just to commemorate your passage. 840
This is proof of my ability to show
you how I can see the unseen, how I know
the past and can tell you about the future.
I shall now tell both you and Io all the
rest, taking up my tale where I left off.
There is a city, Canopus, which lies at
the edge of the Nile’s mouth with its piles of silt,
and in that place Zeus will touch you with his
gentle hand, and restore you to your senses.
You will give birth to dark Epaphus, “son 850
of touch,” to commemorate his origin.
He will harvest all the fruit produced by the
land watered by the stream of the wide Nile.
After five generations, fifty maidens
will come back to Argos to flee marriage
to their cousins, who are mad with lust
for an unlawful marriage, and follow
hot on the girls’ trail like hawks pursuing doves.
God will intervene and deprive them of their catch.
The Pelasgian land will shelter these women 860
after they savagely murder these men
at night. Each bride will deprive her husband of life,
dyeing a two-edged sword in his blood.
I pray that such a lust visit only my enemies.
One of the maidens will spare her husband out
of love, and this spell will blunt her purpose. She
will choose the lesser of two evils and would
rather be called a coward than a murderess.
In Argos she will give birth to many kings.
All the details would take too long to relate, 870
but from her offspring will be born a brave man,
famous for his bow, and it will be he who releases
me finally from my suffering. This is all the
prophecy as told me by my Titan mother,
Themis. How this will be done is too long a story,
and besides it doesn’t help you to know that.

IO
Eleleu! Eleleu!
The pain, the pain, it stings me, and
Drives me mad, I’m burning up!
The gadfly’s barbed sting never made in a forge, 880
Bites me deeply.
My heart pounds in my chest with fear;
My eyeballs spin in my frenzy.
Madness whirls me out of my course.
I can’t control my speech;
My muddy words tossed randomly about,
Beat against the waves of vengeful ruin.

CHORUS
He was wise, wise was he,
Who weighed this problem in his mind
Before he spoke this wise saying:
To marry one’s equal is best by far. 890
A man who labors should not marry above his station,
Either those puffed up with wealth,
Or those who boast about their birth.

Never, never,
Lady Luck, will you see
Me taking Zeus as my bedmate.
Nor would I marry a bridegroom that descends from heaven.
I am terrified by this maiden without her mate,
Io, reaping Hera’s hate that forces her
Into cruel and endless wandering. 900

I do not fear
Mating with equals,
But I fear the burning desire of a god
Casting his glance on me, one I could not escape.
It’s a war that’s no war at all; an unfavorable favor;
I don’t know what would happen to me,
Or how to escape
Zeus’s crafty designs.

PROMETHEUS
Yes, the day will come, no matter how stubborn
he is, for Zeus to fall, since he is planning
to mate in such a way that he will be thrust
into darkness from his tyrant’s throne, and so 910
he will bring to pass the curse of his father Cronus,
uttered at the time when he fell from his throne.
How to save himself, only I, from all
the gods, have the means to reveal clearly.
I know exactly what to do and how. He
can sit boldly all he wants, trusting
in the reverberating might of his lightning bolt.
He can shake it all he likes, but it won’t help him.
These fire-breathing bolts cannot protect him against
this dishonorable and unbearable fall.
Such an opponent is he creating against 920
himself, and a marvel impossible to
defeat. He will discover a flame stronger
than lightning, a roar that will deafen thunder,
and shatter the trident, Poseidon’s spear, scourge of
the sea, and land-shaker. In his catastrophic
fall, Zeus will learn how great a difference
there is between ruling and being a slave.

CHORUS
You’re just telling us what you would like to have happen.

PROMETHEUS
Both. I’m telling the future and what I want.

CHORUS
May we expect someone to come and defeat Zeus? 930

PROMETHEUS
What he suffers will surpass even what I have to bear.

CHORUS
Aren’t you afraid to make these predictions?

PROMETHEUS
I’m immortal, what can he do to me?

CHORUS
He can make your suffering much worse.

PROMETHEUS
Let him try. I’m prepared for anything.

CHORUS
Wise are those who respect Necessity.

PROMETHEUS
You go on respecting, adoring, and flattering
those in power, but I couldn’t care less about Zeus.
Let him do what he likes, and rule for his brief day; 940
his authority over the gods won’t last long. But I see
his servant coming here, that messenger boy
of the new tyrant. He seems to have some news.

Enter HERMES

HERMES
I’m speaking to you, too clever for your own good,
nastier than nasty, who stole fire from the gods,
in misplaced loyalty to creatures of a day.
Our father orders you to tell him about
the marriage you boast will destroy his power.
And you can forget those riddles: lay it out
plain and simple, in detail. Don’t make me 950
come back, Prometheus; you see, Zeus
is not amused and he has a short temper.

PROMETHEUS
Well done, great choice of words, and just as crude
as suits a servant of the gods. You’re only
a weak child, and you think like one too, when
you imagine nothing can happen to you,
and you’re safe in your lofty tower.
I’ve already seen two tyrants fall from
that height, and I’m about to see a third
collapse in shame. Do you think I fear 960
you young upstart gods? Not in the least.
Soon your riddle will be solved. Everything
I have said, you will soon see come to pass.

HERMES
It was your own stubbornness that landed
you in trouble before, and you’re at it again.

PROMETHEUS
I’m better off than you are;
at least I’m not a servant.

HERMES
Of course, better to hang on this rock
than to be Zeus’s trusted messenger.

PROMETHEUS
Just like the criminal you are, hurling insults. 970

HERMES
You seem quite content to suffer as you do.

PROMETHEUS
“Content”? I wish my enemies could be
just as “content” as I am. And you too.

HERMES
So now you blame me for your troubles?

PROMETHEUS
I blame all the gods who benefited from
what I did for them, and wrong me in return.

HERMES
What you say shows that you have gone mad.

PROMETHEUS
Is it madness to hate one’s enemies?

HERMES
You would be unbearable, if things went well for you.

PROMETHEUS
Omoi!

HERMES
Omoi? That’s not in Zeus’s vocabulary. 980

PROMETHEUS
Aging time teaches everything.

HERMES
But you have not learned to nourish a sensible mind.

PROMETHEUS
True. Otherwise I wouldn’t waste my time talking to a servant.

HERMES
I gather you won’t give our father the answer he wants.

PROMETHEUS
Oh, I really should. I owe him so much.

HERMES
You insult me as if I were a child.

PROMETHEUS
Am I wrong? Aren’t you even more foolish
than a child to expect an answer from me?
Zeus can do his worst. No torture will force
me to speak, only release from my bonds. 990
Let him hurl all the blazing thunderbolts he likes,
let the white wings of snow embrace me;
may he shake all the world with his earthquakes
and throw all the world into a chaotic tailspin.
He won’t get a thing from me, nor bend my will;
I won’t identify who will throw him out of power.

HERMES
Well, you’ll soon see how this helps you.

PROMETHEUS
Are you trying to tell me, the prophet, about my future?

HERMES
You foolish god. Won’t you learn from your pain
and learn how to be sensible at last? 1000

PROMETHEUS
You have as much chance of convincing me
as turning a wave of the sea. Don’t think that
fear of what Zeus has in mind will turn me into
a woman, and force me onto my knees,
to lift my hands in prayer to him, and beg him
to release me from my bonds. That’s not me.

HERMES
I see I’m getting nowhere. My pleas neither
convince you, nor change your mind. You take the
bit in your mouth like a young colt, chew at it,
and fight against your reins. Your tactic 1010
is less than effectual and if you don’t make sense,
your being stubborn has no power at all.
If my words were not able to convince
you, Zeus has other plans; a storm will
whirl you to destruction beyond belief;
its wave of suffering will overwhelm you.
First, Zeus will shatter this cliff with his
thunder and lightning, bury your body inside,
with the rock embracing you. After
a long span of time, you will be returned 1020
to the light of day, so that the winged hound of Zeus,
a huge golden-red eagle, will fiercely shred
your body into bloody rags. He will arrive
every day, an uninvited guest at a feast,
and turn your liver into pieces of black gore.
There will be no end to your agony
until a god take on your suffering in your place,
and of his own free will goes to the sunless
gloomy land of death, in the depths of Hell.
So consider this. It’s not idle boasting, 1030
but total truth, all said for your benefit.
The mouth of Zeus is incapable of telling lies,
so it all will soon come to pass. Think about it;
ponder on it well; stubbornness is never
better than accepting a wise suggestion.

CHORUS
I think that Hermes is giving you good advice;
he tells you not to be stubborn, and to follow
the path of wise good judgment. Listen to him.
No wise man compounds his error. He makes amends.

PROMETHEUS
I already knew what this messenger said. 1040
It’s no disgrace for an enemy
To be harmed by an enemy.
Let the forked lightning wrap around me;
The sky redden with lightning and thunder away;
Whirl its tempests;
Shake the earth from its roots;
Waves of the sea should reach the stars,
Force them out of their nightly paths;
Whirl my body to heaven!
Blast it down to Tartarus in fierce 1050
Eddies of necessity.
No matter what he does,
He cannot kill me

HERMES
I’m convinced I’m hearing the words
Of one whose mind is deranged.
This is the prayer of a madman.
Will his madness never let up?
You girls,
So sympathetic to him,
Get out of here quickly, 1060
So the thunder and lightning
Do not hurl you out of your senses.

CHORUS
You had better change your story,
If you want to convince me.
What you say is outrageous.
So you want me to be a
coward? I’ll suffer what he
suffers;
I hate traitors,
There’s no
disease
That I hate more. 1070

HERMES
Well, just remember what I
said, And don’t blame me when
Your own blindness lands you in
trouble. Don’t say that Zeus tossed
You into something you didn’t
deserve. Blame yourselves.
You’ve been warned,
and I didn’t speak in
riddles.
Its your folly’s fault that
this Inescapable net of
disaster
Will drag you down along with him.

Lightning flashes, sound of thunder, earthquake

rumbles, s and signs of total destruction.

PROMETHEUS
Now the time for words ends; 1080
And the action begins. The earth
shakes; Thunder echoes from the depths
And roars past me;
Bright lightning flashes twist around me;
The winds swirl up dust in dizzying
eddies; The blasts battle with each other,
Whipping up counter attacks;
Sea spray reaches the
sky. The storm
approaches,
Sent by Zeus to cause me fear. 1090
O holy mother,
O Sky that guides all light
Over the revolving path of the
universe, Do you see what injustice I
suffer?

THE END