Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

Series Introduction

swilson — Thu, 27 May 2021 13:36:58 +0000

Public Domain Core Collection consists of over 50 titles of public domain works that have been created using Pressbooks and made available in online, epub, pdf and editable formats. Although the primary audience for this collection is students and faculty members in the post-secondary education sector in Ontario, the titles are freely available on the web to anyone who wants to read or adapt them for their own use. Titles were chosen for this collection based on the following criteria:

Relevance to post-secondary courses taught in Ontario
Frequency of appearance on syllabi listed in the Open Syllabus Project
Proposed usage in open assignments in courses at Ryerson and Brock universities during the Fall 2021 semester
Inclusion of underrepresented voices (including titles by BIPOC authors)
In the public domain

All texts are in the public domain (50 years after the death of the author) in Canada as of 2021. If you are accessing these texts from another country, please be aware that some of these works may not be in the public domain in your country. Supplementary materials (introductions, acknowledgements, etc.) are licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. If you have suggestions for additional public domain titles that you would like to see in this collection, please complete this suggestion form. This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and the Virtual Learning Strategy. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Strategy visit: https://vls.ecampusontario.ca/.]]>

Glossary

swilson — Thu, 27 May 2021 13:36:58 +0000

Public Domain Core Collection Faculty Guide.]]>

Book Information

swilson — Thu, 27 May 2021 13:36:58 +0000

L2-The Hieros Gamos of Zeus and Hera

nkuruppu — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 17:20:27 +0000

Homer, Iliad, book 14, lines 185-419, translated by Ian Johnston, 2019. Prof. Johnston’s complete translation of the Iliad can be found at: Homer's Iliad, trans. Ian Johnston In this section of the Iliad, Zeus has forbidden the pro-Greek gods (among them Hera, Athena, and Poseidon) to intervene by helping the Greeks in the battle against the Trojans. Zeus is now watching the battle from the top of Mount Ida, just outside Troy. The gods are furious, and Poseidon, in disguise, is already helping the Greek, ignoring Zeus’s order. Hera now decides to seduce Zeus and then have Hypnos (Sleep) make Zeus fall asleep so that Poseidon can continue help the Greeks for as long as possible. As this was happening, on a peak of Mount Olympus Hera of the golden throne was standing watching. She recognized her brother-in-law at once, as he kept busy in the war where men win glory, for he was her brother and her husband’s, too.190 Hera’s heart was pleased. She looked across at Zeus, sitting on the highest peak on top of Ida, with its many fountains. Hatred filled her heart. So ox-eyed queen Hera then began considering how she might deceive the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus. In her heart the best course of action seemed to be to make herself look most attractive, go to Ida, then see if Zeus would want to lie down with her, embrace her, and make love. Then she could pour out on his eyelids and his crafty mind a deep warm sleep.200 She went off to her bedroom, which Hephaestus, her dear son, had made for her, with close-fitting doors set against their posts, secured with a secret lock, which no other god could open. She went in there, then closed the shining doors. First, with ambrosia she washed from her lovely body all the stains, then rubbed her skin with fragrant oil, divinely sweet, made specially for her. If this perfume were merely stirred inside Zeus’s bronze-floored house, its scent would then diffuse throughout heaven and earth. She used this perfume210 all over her fair body, then arranged her hair. With her own hands she combed her shining locks in braids, a stunning style for an immortal goddess. Then she wrapped around herself a heavenly robe, which Athena made for her from silky fabric, adorning it with gorgeous embroidery. She pinned the robe around her breast with golden brooches. On her waist she put a belt with a hundred tassels. Hera then fixed earrings in her pierced ear lobes, each with three gemstones, an enchanting glitter.220 Next the queen of goddesses placed on her head a fine new dazzling shawl, white as the sun. She then slipped lovely sandals over her sleek feet.

Hera Vists Aphrodite

Once Hera had dressed her body in this finery, she left the room and summoned Aphrodite. Some distance from the other gods, she said to her:

“My dear child, will you agree to do what I ask of you, or will you refuse, because you’re angry with me in your heart, since I help the Greeks and you aid the Trojans?”230

Zeus’s daughter Aphrodite answered her:

“Hera, honoured goddess, daughter of great Cronos, say what’s on your mind. My heart tells me I should do what you ask, if I can, if it’s something that can be carried out.”

Then queen Hera, with her devious mind, replied:

“Then give me Love and Sexual Desire, which you use to master all immortals, and mortal men as well. I’m going to visit the limits of this all-nourishing earth,240 to see Oceanus, from whom the gods arose, and mother Tethys, the two who reared me, taking good care of me inside their home, once they got me from Rhea, that time Zeus, who sees far and wide, forced Kronos underground, under the restless seas. I’m going to visit them. And I’ll resolve their endless quarrel. For a long time now, they’ve stayed apart from one another, not sharing love there in the marriage bed,250 since anger fills their hearts. If my words could reconcile the hearts in these two gods, bring them to bed again, once more in love, they’d think of me with loving reverence.”

Laughter-loving Aphrodite answered Hera:

“It would not be appropriate for me to say no to your demand, since you sleep in the arms of Zeus, the greatest of the gods.”

Aphrodite spoke, then loosened from her breasts the finely decorated, embroidered garment260 in which all her magic charms were fixed—for love, erotic lust, flirtation, and seduction, which steals the wits even of clear-thinking men. Aphrodite put this in Hera’s hands, then said:

“Take this garment. Tie it round your breasts. Everything is interwoven in the cloth. I don’t think you’ll come back unsuccessful in getting what it is your heart desires.”

Aphrodite finished. Ox-eyed queen Hera smiled, and, as she did so, put the garment round her breasts.270 Then Aphrodite, Zeus’s daughter, went back home.

Hera Visits Hypnos (Sleep)

Hera sped off, leaving the crest of Mount Olympus. She touched down on Pieria, lovely Emathia, rushed by the highest mountains of Thracian horsemen— her feet did not touch ground on those snow-covered peaks. From Athos she went across the heaving sea, coming to Lemnos, city of godlike Thoas. There she met Sleep, Death’s brother. Clasping his hand, she spoke to him:

“Sleep, king of all men and gods,

if you’ve ever listened to what I say,280 obey me now. I’ll be grateful always. Lull Zeus’s radiant eyes to sleep for me, when I’m stretched out for sex beside him. I’ll give you as a gift a lovely throne, indestructible gold which my own son Hephaestus with his ambidextrous skills will make for you. Under it he’ll set a stool, so you can rest your feet when drinking wine.”

Sweet Sleep then said in reply:

“Honoured goddess Hera,

daughter of mighty Kronos, I could with ease290 bring some other immortal one to sleep, even the streams of river Oceanus, the source of all of them. But I won’t come near Zeus, lull him to sleep, unless he bids me, asks in person. Your request some time ago taught me my lesson, on that very day when Hercules, son of almighty Zeus, set sail from Troy, after he’d sacked the Trojans’ city. That’s when I seduced the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus, pouring300 my sweetness over him. You then carried evil in your heart for Hercules, driving blasts of hostile winds across the sea, taking him at last to well-settled Cos, far from all his friends. When Zeus woke up, he was incensed, throwing gods around his house, looking, above all, for me. He’d have tossed me from heaven into the sea, if Night, who subdues gods and men, had not saved me. I ran away to her, and Zeus held back,310 though still enraged, not wishing to offend swift Night. Now here you are again, asking me to do something I simply must not do.”

Ox-eyed queen Hera then answered him:

“Sleep,

why concern your heart about these matters? Do you think all-seeing Zeus feels for Trojans the same rage he felt then for Hercules, his own son? But come, I’ll give you as your wife one of the younger Graces. You can marry Pasithea, whom you long for every day.”320

Hera finished. Sleep was overjoyed and said:

“All right, then. Swear to me by waters of the inviolable river Styx, setting one hand on the all-nourishing earth, the other on the shimmering sea, so all may witness our agreement, even those gods underground with Kronos, that you will give me one of the Graces, Pasithea, whom I long for every day.”

Hera goes to Zeus on Mount Ida White-armed goddess Hera agreed to Sleep’s request.330 She made the oath, as he had asked, invoking all the gods under Tartarus, those called the Titans. Once she finished saying the oath, they both set off, wrapping themselves in mist. They left behind them the cities of Lemnos and Imbros, moving quickly, then came to Mount Ida with its many springs, mother of wild creatures, and arrived at Lectum, where for the first time they left the sea. They walked on dry land, shaking treetops underneath their feet. Sleep then stopped, before Zeus’s eyes could see him,340 climbed a high pine tree, at that time the tallest one growing on Ida. It stretched up through the lower air right into the sky. Concealed in that tree’s branches, Sleep perched there, shaped like the clear-voiced mountain bird which gods call Chalcis, but people name Cymindis. Hera moved quickly on to Ida’s peak, high Gargarus. Cloud-gatherer Zeus caught sight of her. As he looked, his wise heart became suffused with sexual desire, as strong as when they’d first made love together, lying on a couch without their parents’ knowledge.350 Zeus stood up in front of her, called her, and said:

“Hera, what are you looking for, coming down here from Olympus? Your chariot, your horses are not here. You should use them.”

Queen Hera with her crafty mind then answered Zeus:

“I’m going to visit the outer limits of this all-nourishing earth, to Oceanus, from whom gods came, and mother Tethys, who looked after me in their own home. They raised me well. I’ll try to mediate360 their endless quarrel. For a long time now, they’ve stayed apart from one another, not sharing love there in the marriage bed, since anger fills their hearts. As for my horses, they’re standing at the foot of Ida, with its many springs, to carry me across dry land and sea. I’ve come here now, down from Mount Olympus, to stop you from being angry with me afterwards, if I say nothing about going to visit370 deep-flowing Oceanus in his home.”

Cloud-gatherer Zeus then answered:

“Hera, you can go there later. But why don’t we lie down and make joyful love together? I’ve never felt such sexual desire before for any goddess, for any mortal woman. It’s flooding through me, overpowering the heart here in my chest—not even when I lusted for Ixion’s wife, who bore me Peirithous, a man as wise as gods, or Danaë,380 with her enchanting ankles, daughter of Acrisius, who gave birth to Perseus, most illustrious of men, nor the daughter of famous Phoenix, who bore me Minos and godlike Rhadamanthus, nor Alcmene, who gave birth to Hercules in Thebes, a mighty hearted son, nor Semele, who bore that joy to mortals Dionysus, nor fair-haired lady Demeter, nor Leto, that glorious girl, not even for yourself—390 I felt for none of these the love I feel for you right now—such sweet desire grips me.”

Queen Hera with her cunning mind then said in reply:

“Most fearsome son of Cronos, what are you saying? If you now want us to make love lying here, on Ida’s peaks, where anyone can see, what if one of the immortal gods observes us, as we sleep, then goes and tells the other gods? I could not get up from this bed and go into your home. That would be scandalous.400 But if that’s your wish, if your heart’s set on it, you have that bedroom your own son Hephaestus had built for you. It has close-fitting doors fixed into posts. Let’s go and lie down there, since you’re so keen for us to go to bed.”

Cloud-gatherer Zeus then answered her:

“Hera, don’t be afraid that any god or man will glimpse a thing. I’ll cover you up in a golden cloud. Even sun god Helios will not see the two of us, and his rays410 are the most perceptive spies of all.”

Zeus finished. Then Kronos’ son took his wife in his arms. Underneath them divine Earth made fresh flowers grow— dew-covered clover, crocuses, and hyacinths, lush and soft, to hold the lovers off the ground. They lay together there covered with a cloud, a lovely golden mist, from which fell glistening dew. Then Zeus slumbered peacefully on Mount Gargarus, overcome with love and sleep, his wife in his embrace.]]>

L2 Hypothesis-The Song of Ares and Aphrodite Homer

nkuruppu — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:49:06 +0000

Odyssey, book 8, lines 340-461. Trans. Ian Johnston, 2019. Johnston’s complete translation of the Odyssey can be found here: http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/homer/odysseytofc.html In book 8 of the Odyssey, Odysseus is a guest of the Phaeacians, a mythical people renowned for their knowledge of ships and the sea. In the extract below, a festival that involves athletic games, dancing, and song, the poet Demodocus (“the minstrel” of the opening line) entertains the assembled guests by reciting the myth of how Hephaestus caught his wife Aphrodite in their marriage bed with Ares. The myth is referred to as a “song” because in the ancient Greek world, poets performed myths to the musical accompaniment of a lyre. The minstrel struck the opening chords to his sweet song—340 how war god Ares loved the fair-crowned Aphrodite, how in Hephaestus’s own home they first had sex in secret, and how Ares gave her many gifts, while he disgraced the marriage bed of lord Hephaestus. But sun god Helios observed them making love and came at once to tell Hephaestus. When he heard the unwelcome news, the lame god went to his forge, turning over deep in his heart a devious scheme. He set up his enormous anvil on its block, and forged a net no one could ever break or loosen,350 so they would have to stay immobile where they were. When, in his rage, he had made that snare for Ares, he went into the room which housed his marriage bed, anchored the metal netting around the bed posts, and then hung loops of it from roof beams high above, as fine as spiders’ webs, impossible to see, even for a blessed god—that’s how skillfully he made that net. Once he had set the snare in place around the bed, he announced a trip to Lemnos, that well-built citadel, his favourite place by far360 of all the lands on earth. Ares of the Golden Reins, who maintained a constant lookout, saw Hephaestus, the celebrated master artisan, leave home, and went running over to Hephaestus’s house, eager to have sex with fair-crowned Aphrodite. She had just left the presence of her father Zeus, mighty son of Cronos, and was sitting down. Ares charged inside the house, grabbed her by the hand, then spoke, saying these words to her:

“Come, my dear, let’s go to bed and make love together.370 Hephaestus is not home. No doubt he’s gone to visit Lemnos and the Sintians, those men who speak like such barbarians.”

Ares spoke. To Aphrodite having sex with him seemed quite delightful. So the two raced off to bed and lay down together. But then the crafty net made by Hephaestus’s great skill fell down around them, so they could not move their limbs or shift their bodies. After a while, they realized they could not get out. Then the famous crippled god came back to them—380 turning round before he reached the land of Lemnos. Helios had stayed on watch and gave him a report. With a grieving heart, Hephaestus went into his home, and stood inside the doorway, gripped by cruel rage. He made a dreadful cry, calling to all the gods:

“Father Zeus and you other sacred gods who live forever, come here, so you can see something disgusting and ridiculous— Aphrodite, Zeus’s daughter, scorns me and lusts after Ares, the destroyer,390 because he’s beautiful, with healthy limbs, while I was born deformed. I’m not to blame. My parents are! I wish they’d never had me! See how these two have gone to my own bed and are lying there, having sex together, while I look on in pain. But I don’t think they wish to lie like this for very long, no matter how much they may be in love. They’ll both soon lose the urge to stay in bed. But this binding snare will confine them here,400 until her father gives back all those presents, courting gifts I gave him for that shameless bitch— a lovely daughter but a sex-crazed wife.”

Hephaestus finished. Gods gathered at the bronze-floored house. Earthshaker Poseidon came, and lord Hermes, too, the god of luck, as well as archer god Apollo. But female goddesses were all far too ashamed and stayed at home. So the gods, givers of good things, stood in the doorway, looking at the artful work of ingenious Hephaestus. They began to chortle—410 and an irrepressible laughter then pealed out among the blessed gods. Glancing at his neighbour, one of them would say:

“Nasty deeds don’t pay. The slow one overtakes the swift—just as Hephaestus, slow as he is, has caught Ares, although of all the gods who hold Olympus he’s the fastest one there is. Yes, he’s lame, but he’s a crafty one. So Ares now must pay a fine for his adultery.”

That is how the gods then talked to one another.420 But lord Apollo, son of Zeus, questioned Hermes:

“Hermes, son of Zeus, you messenger and giver of good things, how would you like to lie in bed by golden Aphrodite, even though a strong net tied you down?”

The messenger god, killer of Argus, then said in his reply:

“Far-shooting lord Apollo, I wish there were three times as many nets, impossible to break, and all you gods were looking on, if I could like down there,430 alongside golden Aphrodite.”

At Hermes’s words, laughter arose from the immortal deities. But Poseidon did not laugh. He kept requesting Hephaestus, the celebrated master artisan, to set Ares free. When he talked to Hephaestus, his words had wings:

“Set Ares loose. I promise he will pay you everything, as you are asking, all he truly owes, in the presence of immortal gods.”

The famous lame god then replied:

“Lord Poseidon,440 Shaker of the Earth, do not ask me this. It’s a risky thing to accept a pledge made for a nasty rogue. What if Ares escapes his chains, avoids the debt, and leaves— how then among all these immortal gods do I hold you in chains?”

Earthshaker Poseidon then answered him and said:

“Hephaestus, if indeed Ares does not discharge his debt and runs away, I’ll pay you in person.”

Then the celebrated crippled god replied:450

“It would be inappropriate for me to refuse to take your word.”

After saying this, powerful Hephaestus then untied the netting. Both gods, one they had been released from their strong chains, jumped up immediately—Ares went off to Thrace, and laughter-loving Aphrodite left for Paphos, in Cyprus, for her sanctuary, her sacred altar. Once there, the Graces bathed and then anointed her with heavenly oil, the sort that gleams upon the gods, who live forever. Next, they took some gorgeous clothes460 and dressed her—the sight was marvellous to behold. That was the song the celebrated minstrel sang. As he listened, Odysseus felt joy in his heart— long-oared Phaeacians, famous sailors, felt it, too.]]>

L3 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (1-152): the Muses & Creation

nkuruppu — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:59:50 +0000

Hesiod, Theogony, lines 1-152 translated by R. Nickel

Proem = Introduction

Let us begin our song with the Helikonian Muses who inhabit the great and holy mountain of Helikon. They dance on soft feet around a violet spring and an altar to Kronos’ powerful son. Once they’ve washed their soft skin in the spring called Permessus5 or the spring of the winged horse Pegasus or in the holy river Olmeius, on the topmost peaks of Mount Helikon, they devise beautiful dances that excite desire, their feet moving like water. Setting out from this place, veiling themselves in a dense mist, they move through the night, sending out a glorious song10 that celebrates Zeus, the aegis-bearer, and queenly Hera of Argos who goes about on golden sandals, and the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, owl-eyed Athena, Phoebus Apollo and arrow-pouring Artemis, Poseidon, earth-holder and earth shaker,15 exalted Themis and quick-glancing Aphrodite, golden-crowned Hebe and beautiful Dionê, Eos, the Dawn; great Helios, the Sun; and radiant Selenê, the Moon; Gaia, the Earth; mighty Ocean; and black Night;20 and the holy family of all the other gods who are forever.

The Epiphany of the Muses

The Muses once taught Hesiod the noble art of song, as I was tending my sheep on the slopes of holy Mount Helikon. These are the very first words they spoke to me, the Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus:25 “Country shepherds, disgusting dolts, nothing more than bellies! We know how to tell many lies that seem real and, whenever we want to, we know how to sing the truth.” So spoke the swift-speaking daughters of great Zeus, and they gave me a sceptre, breaking off a branch of lush, green laurel,30 exquisite to behold, and they breathed their divine voice into me so that I might sing of what is to come and what happened before, and they ordered me to celebrate the family of the carefree ones who are forever, and always to begin and end my song with them. [But come now, why am I talking about myself so much?35 I might as well be talking about an oak-tree or a stone!] But come now, am I really able to sing like a prophet?35 Am I like the holy stone at Delphi or the talking oaks of Dodona?35b

Hesiod’s Hymn to the Muses

But you, Hesiod, let us sing about the Muses, whose singing delights the great mind of father Zeus on Olympus. They tell of things that are, that will be, and that happened before, with voices in harmony. Their never-tiring song flows sweetly from their mouths. The palace of loud-thundering, father Zeus40 fills with laughter as the delicate voices of the goddesses spreads far and wide. The peaks of snowy Olympus echo, as do the homes the immortals. Sending forth a sound like ambrosia, first they celebrate with song the revered family of the gods, from the very beginning, those whom Gaia and wide Ouranos bore,45 and the gods, givers of good things, born from them. Next the goddesses sing of Zeus, father of gods and men, beginning and ending their song with him, how he is most powerful of the gods in strength, and greatest. Then, singing about the race of Humans and of the mighty Giants,50 the Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus delight the mind of Zeus on Olympus.

The Birth of the Muses

In Pieria, Mnemosyne, who protects the hills of Boeotian Eleutherae, joining in love with their father, bore them to Kronos’ son to be a forgetting of evils and a respite from cares.55 For nine nights wise and clever Zeus united with her, far away from the immortals, coming into their holy marriage bed. When a year had gone by and the seasons turned around, as the months came to an end, and many days were completed, she bore nine like-minded daughters, whose hearts60 care only for song and never grow weary, in Pieria, just below the topmost peak of snowy Olympus. There they have their gleaming dancing floors and beautiful homes. Beside them, the Graces and Desire reside in festivity. As they sing, a lovely sound issues from their lips,65 as they celebrate the customs and cherished practices of the immortals, with enchanting song. After their birth, they went to Olympus, exulting in their beautiful sound, their song like ambrosia. All around, the black earth resounded with their singing. A lovely rhythmic pulse arose beneath their feet70 as they moved toward their father. He rules in the sky; possessing thunder and blazing lightning, he defeated his father Kronos by strength. Justly he issues complex commands for the immortals and oversees their honours. About all this, they sing, the Muses who have their homes on Olympus,75 nine daughters born from great Zeus: Cleio who glorifies, Euterpê who delights, Festive Thalia and ever-singing Melpomenê,77b Terpsichorê who dances with lovely Erato, Polyhymnia, filled with song, heavenly Ourania,78b and Calliopê, with her beautiful voice, best of them all, for she is the companion of revered kings.80

The Muses’ timai

Whomever of divinely favoured kings Zeus’s daughters honour and look to when he’s born, upon his tongue they pour sweet dew, and from his lips flows honey. His people all look to him as he establishes decrees85 with straight judgments. With sure and steady speech, quickly and skillfully he resolves even a great conflict. Kings are sensible for this reason: when the people are wronged, in the public square they determine a just compensation easily, persuading all with gentle words.90 When he comes into the assembly, they exalt him like a god with gracious reverence, and among those assembled he is preeminent. Such is the Muses’ holy gift to men and women. For from the Muses and far-shooting Apollo men all over the earth are singers and lyre-players.95 But kings are from Zeus. He whom the Muses love prospers. A sweet voice flows from his lips. For if a person feels sorrow in his fresh-grieving heart and his soul dries up in grief, and a poet — a companion of the Muses – sings of the glorious deeds100 of men and women of long ago and the carefree gods who dwell on Olympus, straightaway he forgets his cares and remembers none of his sorrows. Swiftly the goddesses’ gift turns them aside.

Invocation of the Muses

Greetings, children of Zeus, grant me a lovely song, and celebrate the holy family of the immortals who are forever,105 those who were born from Gaia and starry Ouranos, the Sky, and from dark Night, and those whom the salty Sea reared. Say how first Gods and Earth were born, and Rivers and the immense Sea, surging with enormous waves, and shining Stars and the vast Sky above them.110 The Gods, givers of good things, who were born from all these – how did they distribute wealth and divide up honours, how first did they take possession of Olympus, with its many valleys? Tell me all these things, Muses who make your home on Olympus, from the beginning. Tell me which of them was born first.115

The Primal Beings

Before all others, Chaos, vast and empty, was born. Then came Gaia, wide-breasted Earth, unmoving foundation for all the immortals who dwell on the peaks of snowy Olympus. Next, misty Tartarus, the Underworld, in a hollow of wide-wayed Earth, and Eros. Among all the immortal gods, he is most beautiful;120 limb-loosener. For all gods and all men and women, he crushes balanced thought and sensible plans in their breasts. From Chaos, Darkness and black Night were born. From Night, Brightness and Day arose. Night conceived and bore them, uniting in love with Darkness.125 Gaia first gave birth to a being equal to herself, starry Ouranos, to enclose her all around, so that she might always be an unmoving foundation for the carefree gods. She then gave birth to high Mountains, lovely habitats for goddesses, Nymphs who dwell on wooded mountains.130 She bore Pontos, the desolate Sea, surging with high waves, without the delightful act of love.

The Children of Gaia & Ouranos: Titans, Cyclopes, & Hundred Handers

Next, uniting with Ouranos,

she bore the Titans: Ocean, with his strong currents, Koios, Kreios, Hyperion, and Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, and Mnemosyne who remembers,135 Gold-crowned Phoebê and lovely Tethys. After these, she bore her youngest, crooked-counseling Kronos, most terrifying of her children, and he despised his potent father. Then she gave birth to the Cyclopes, who possess a violent heart: thundering Brontes, blazing Steropes, and strong-hearted Argês.140 They gave thunder to Zeus and crafted lightning for him. In all other ways they resembled the gods, except that a single eye was fixed in their foreheads. They were called Cyclopes because one cylindrical eye was fixed in the middle of their foreheads.145 Strength and violence and ingenious craft was in their works. Three other children were born from the union of Gaia and Ouranos – massive, violent children who should not be named: Kottos, Briareus, and Gyges – magnificent, arrogant children. From their shoulders, one hundred arms shot out,150 indescribable. From each one’s shoulders fifty heads grew on powerful bodies. Added to their massive form, they possessed unapproachable, powerful strength.

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L3-Archilochus & the Muses (the Mnesiepes Inscription)

nkuruppu — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 15:50:09 +0000

The Mnesiepes Inscription: Archilochus and the Muses translated by R. Nickel Concerning the matters we wish to inscribe [on this stone], the following account has been handed down to us from men of old, and we ourselves worked on them: For they say that when Archilochus was still young, he was sent by his father, Telesicles, into the field, in the neighbourhood called “The Meadows,” in order to fetch a cow for sale. Archilochus got up very early, when it was still night and the moon was shining, and brought the cow to the city. When he was in the place called “The Cliffs,” he thought he saw a group of women. Presuming that they were returning from the fields to the city, he taunted and teased them. They welcomed him with child-like glee and laughter, and asked him if he was bringing the cow in order to sell it. When he replied “yes,” they said that they would give him a fair price. Once they’d said this, both they and the cow disappeared, and before his feet he saw a lyre. He was dumbstruck. After some time, he came to his senses and understood that the women who had appeared and given him the lyre were the Muses. Picking up the lyre, he proceeded into the city and revealed to his father what had happened. When Telesicles heard the story and saw the lyre, he was amazed. First he conducted a search for the cow all over the island, but was unable to find her. Next he was chosen by the citizens to go as a delegate, along with Lycambes, to Delphi in order to consult the oracle [of Apollo] on behalf of the city. He left on this voyage very eagerly, because he wanted to learn what had happened to them [i.e., to him and his son Archilochus]. When they arrived and entered the oracular shrine, the god [Apollo] gave the following oracle to Telesicles:

Your son will be immortal and famous in song, Telesicles, that son who first addresses you when you leap from your ship onto your beloved fatherland.

They arrived back at Paros during a festival in honour of Artemis, and the first of all his children to approach and greet their father was Archilochus. When they went home, Telesicles asked if the items required [for the festival] were at hand, since it was late in the day … [At this point, the stone on which these words are inscribed is too badly damaged to be restored. Another stone on which the inscription continues, while damaged, contains some details about how the hero cult of Archilochus came to be established.]]]>

L4 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (the Succession Myth)

nkuruppu — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 16:08:22 +0000

Hesiod, Theogony (lines 132-232, 453-506, 617-735, 811-961) (translated by R. Nickel) Translator’s Note: The following extracts are taken from Hesiod’s Theogony to provide a continuous reading of the Succession Myth. Note that the title headings are my own, and not Hesiod’s. At times, Hesiod uses the terms “Gaia,” “Ouranos,” “Tartarus,” “Ocean,” and “Sea” to refer to ancient gods who came into being at the beginning of the universe. At other times, he uses these terms to refer simply to geography: the earth, the sky, the underworld, and the ocean and the sea. In my translation, I alternate between using Gaia, Ouranos, Tartarus etc. as the proper names of gods involved in the story and as geographical features of our world. When the names are being used primarily to indicate geography, I replace “Gaia” in the Greek with “Earth”, Ouranos with “Sky” and so on. I use capital letters (the Sea, Ocean, the Sky etc.) as a way of indicating that, to an ancient Greek, the earth is always simultaneously a geographical place and a goddess, that the ocean is at one and the same time a huge expanse of water and the eldest of the Titan gods, and the sky above us also and always the god who is Gaia’s eldest son, first husband and first ruler of the universe.

The Children of Gaia & Ouranos: Titans, Cyclopes, & Hundred Handers

Next, uniting with Ouranos,

Gaia bore the Titans: Ocean, with his strong currents, Koios, Kreios, Hyperion, and Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, and Mnemosyne who remembers,135 Gold-crowned Phoebê and lovely Tethys. After these, she bore her youngest, crooked-counseling Kronos, most terrifying of her children, and he despised his potent father. Then she gave birth to the Cyclopes, who possess a violent heart: thundering Brontes, blazing Steropes, and strong-hearted Argês.140 They gave thunder to Zeus and crafted lightning for him. In all other ways they resembled the gods, except that a single eye was fixed in their foreheads. They were called Cyclopes because one cylindrical eye was fixed in the middle of their foreheads.145 Strength and violence and ingenious craft was in their works. Three other children were born from the union of Gaia and Ouranos – massive, violent children who should not be named: Kottos, Briareus, and Gyges – magnificent, arrogant children. From their shoulders, one hundred arms shot out,150 indescribable. From each one’s shoulders fifty heads grew on powerful bodies. Added to their massive form, they possessed unapproachable, powerful strength.

The Succession Myth: Part 1

All those who were born from Gaia and Ouranos were awe-inspiring children, and their own father hated them155 from the beginning. When first any of them was born, he would hide them all away, not allowing them to come up to the light, in a hole of Gaia. Ouranos took delight in his evil deed. But she, vast Gaia, groaned becoming more crowded within, and she pondered a deceitful, evil craft.160 Right away, creating the class of metal known as grey adamant, she fashioned a giant sickle and showed it to her children. She spoke words of courage, though she grieved in her heart:

“Children of me and an arrogant father, if only you are willing to obey, we could take vengeance for the evil outrage165 of your father, for he first plotted despicable actions.”

So she spoke, and fear seized them all. No one spoke a word. But then, almost at once, great crooked-counseling Kronos bravely addressed these words to his revered mother:

“Mother, I would undertake and accomplish this action,170 for I feel no respect for the one wrongly called father, our father. For he first plotted despicable actions.”

So he spoke and vast Gaia rejoiced greatly in her heart. She set him down, hidden in ambush, put in his hands a sickle with jagged teeth, and revealed the whole cunning plot.175 Then he came, great Ouranos bringing Night with him, and all around Gaia, in his desire for love-making, he stretched out and grew longer, all of him. But his son, from his place of ambush, reached out with his left hand; with his right, he grasped the vast sickle, with its long jagged teeth, and eagerly sheared away180 the genitals of his own father. He hurled them away to be carried behind him. Not without result did they fly from his hand. The drops of blood that fell down, Gaia received them all, and in the course of the revolving year, she bore the powerful Furies and the massive Giants,185 gleaming in their armour and holding long spears in their hands, and the nymphs they call the Ash-Tree Nymphs, all along the limitless earth.

The Birth of Aphrodite

When first he cut off the genitals with adamant, he threw them away from dry land into the surging sea, and so they floated on the sea’s surface for a long time; all around, white foam190 arose from the immortal flesh, and in the foam a maiden grew. First she drew near the holy island of Cythera; from there she came to sea-girt Cyprus. A revered and beautiful god emerged. Everywhere grass grew beneath her slender feet. Aphrodite,195 foam-born goddess, well-garlanded Cythereia — so gods and men alike call her, because she was formed in foam, but also Cythereia, since she came past Cythera, and Cyprogeneia, Cyprus-born, since she was born on wave-washed Cyprus. And Philommeidês, laughter-loving, because she appeared from the genitals.200 Eros accompanied her, and lovely Desire followed, when first she was born and as she entered the company of the gods. From the beginning she has held this honour and received this fated portion among women and men and immortal gods: maidens’ whispers, smiles, and deceptions,205 sweet delight and delightful love-making. But great Ouranos, their father, now called his children Titans, Overreachers, quarrelling with the children he himself begot. He kept saying that they had recklessly overreached and committed a monstrous deed, for which in time to come there would be vengeance.210

The Children of Night

Night bore hateful Doom and black Destiny and Death. She bore sleep, and the tribe of Dreams. Next gloomy Night gave birth to Blame and painful Suffering, though she lay with no one, and the Hesperides who tend beautiful golden apples215 and fruit-bearing trees beyond the boundaries of famous Ocean. She also bore the Fates and ruthless Dooms — Klotho who spins, Lachesis who apportions, and Atropos who cuts the thread. The Fates provide both good and evil to mortals at the time of their birth, and pursue the transgressions of men and gods alike;220 these goddesses never let go of their fearsome anger until they exact an ugly vengeance from anyone who sins. Deadly Night also bore Nemesis — Retribution — a curse for mortal men and women. Then she bore Deception and Affection,225 destructive Old Age and strong-hearted Strife.

The Children of Strife

Hateful Strife bore painful Toil, Forgetfulness, Famine and tearful Pains; Quarrels, Lies, Words, and Disputes; Bad Government and Ruin who know one another well;230 and Oath, who most of all brings misery to mortal men and women whenever they swear a false oath. (For the next 220 lines, Hesiod continues with long catalogue lists of the birth of hundreds of divine beings, including nymphs in the sea, monsters, and rivers. The narrative of the Succession Myth continues at line 453 below.)

The Succession Myth: Part 2 (Kronos)

Rhea gave birth to shining children, overpowered by Kronos: Hestia, Demeter, and Hera of the golden sandals; strong Hades, who makes his home beneath the earth,455 his heart without pity; loud-sounding Poseidon; and cunning Zeus, father of gods and men, whose thunder makes the wide earth tremble. Great Kronos swallowed them all, as each one emerged from their mother’s womb to her knees,460 intending that none of Ouranos’ grandchildren ever possess the honour of kingship among the immortals. For he learned from Gaia and starry Ouranos that he was fated to be overpowered by his own son, in spite of his strength, through the plans of great Zeus.465 And so his vigilance was not careless, but watching closely he swallowed down his children, and unceasing grief took hold of Rhea. But when she was about to give birth to Zeus, father of gods and men, she implored her beloved parents, Gaia and starry Ouranos470 to devise a cunning plan so that she could bear her beloved child unnoticed and the Furies of her father could exact vengeance for the children great, crooked-counselling Kronos swallowed. They listened eagerly to their beloved daughter, and obeyed. They revealed to her all that was fated to happen475 concerning Kronos, the king, and his strong-hearted son. They sent her to Lyktos, in the rich community of Crete, when the time came for her to give birth to her youngest, great Zeus. Immense Gaia received the child from her to raise and keep safe in broad Crete.480 Carrying him through the swift dark night, she came first to Lyktos. Taking the child in her arms, she hid him away in a deep cave, beneath the hiding places of holy earth, on the forest-covered mountain of Aegaion. Wrapping a large stone in a baby’s blanket, Rhea offered it485 to Ouranos’ wide-ruling son, king of the earlier gods. Taking it in his hands, he put it down inside his belly, the vile fool. He did not think in his mind that, in place of the stone, his son remained for the future untroubled, undefeated, soon to overpower him,490 deprive him of his honour, and rule among the immortals. Swiftly the strength and shining limbs of our king grew, and in the course of a year, tricked by Gaia’s cunning advice, great, crooked-counselling Kronos disgorged his children,495 defeated by the skill and strength of his son. First he vomited out the stone which he’d swallowed last. Zeus set it down in the wide-wayed earth, in holy Delphi, in the vales of Mount Parnassus, to serve as a sign hereafter, a wonder for mortal men and women.500

Zeus releases the Cyclopes

He then released his uncles from cruel bondage, [thundering Brontes, blazing Steropes, and strong-hearted Argês,] sons of Ouranos, their father, who had foolishly imprisoned them. They repaid the favour of Zeus’s kindness and gave him thunder and the fiery thunderbolt and lightning which earlier vast Gaia had concealed.505 Trusting in these he rules over mortals and immortals. [Hesiod now interrupts the Succession Myth with a lengthy digression on the god Prometheus and how he stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. We will skip over this for now, since Prometheus will be the focus of Lessons 5 and 6. Hesiod returns to the Succession Myth, picking up where he’d left off. After Zeus releases his uncles the Cyclopes, he releases his other triplet uncles, the Hundred Handers. Both sets of uncles will be Zeus’s faithful allies in the war against the Titans that is about to begin.]

Zeus releases the Hundred Handers

When their father, Ouranos, first became angry in his soul with the Hundred Handers – Briareus, Kottos, and Gyges — he bound them with powerful chains, envying their extreme manliness, form, and size. He settled them beneath the wide-wayed earth.620 There, enduring pain as they dwell beneath the Earth, they sit, at the farthest limits of vast Gaia, grieving deeply and experiencing much sorrow in their hearts.

The Titanomachy

But the son of Kronos and the other immortal gods, those whom fair-haired Rhea bore through intercourse with Kronos,625 brought the Hundred Handers up into the light again, following the advice of Gaia. For Gaia told them everything in detail: that, with the aid of these ones, they would win victory and glorious renown. For much too long the Titans and all the gods fathered by Kronos had been fighting, against one another in powerful battles, achieving only painful toil.630 The famous Titans were fighting from the top of Mount Othrys, and the gods who are givers of good things from the top of Mount Olympus, those gods whom fair-haired Rhea bore, going to bed with Kronos. Enduring painful battles against one another, they fought without end for ten years.635 There was no release from harsh strife, no end for either side. The war’s outcome hung in the balance. But then Zeus gave the Hundred Handers what they lacked – nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods. Immense strength then grew in their chests,640 Then Zeus, father of gods and men, spoke to them:

“Hear me, glorious children of Gaia and Ouranos, that I might speak what the spirit in my breast compels me to say. For too long now against one another645 We have been fighting every day for victory and power, the immortal Titans and those of us fathered by Kronos. Reveal your great strength and invincible arms to the Titans, as you oppose them in painful battle. Remember my kind friendship, and all that you suffered650 beneath the misty darkness before you came up to the light from painful bondage through my wise planning.”

So spoke Zeus, and straightaway blameless Kottos answered him:

“You are a strange one! You reveal what is not unknown. We ourselves know that your mind and your judgment are superior,655 and you were born to be the immortals’ champion against deadly cold harm. By your goodwill, from misty Darkness and our harsh chains we have come up once again, lordly son of Kronos, gaining that which we thought beyond hope. And so now, with stubborn purpose and a willing spirit,660 we shall defend your power in the dreadful din of battle, as we fight against the Titans in strong encounters.”

So spoke Kottos, the Hundred Hander, and the gods, givers of good things, praised him when they heard his words. Their spirits longed for war more than ever before. They roused up unenviable battle,665 all of them, males and females both, on that day, the Titans and all those whom Kronos sired, and those ones Zeus brought up from Darkness beneath Earth to the light, terrifying and powerful beings possessing infinite strength. One hundred arms jut out from their shoulders,670 for each one of them, and each has fifty heads growing up from their shoulders on powerful necks. Then they took their places against the Titans in the grievous conflict, holding giant rocks in their massive hands.675 The Titans, from the other side, strengthened their ranks eagerly. Both sides revealed the violent work of their hands. All around, infinite Pontos, the Sea, resounded dreadfully. Gaia, the Earth, roared loudly and the wide Ouranos, the Sky, groaned as he was shaken. From its very foundations, tall Olympus quaked680 beneath the force of the immortals. The heavy pounding of their feet, the shrill noise of unspeakable retreat and powerful weapons came all the way to misty Tartarus. So they hurled painful missiles at one another, and the cries of both sides reached up to starry Ouranos,685 as they came toward each other with great war cries. No longer did Zeus hold back his strength. But straightaway his heart filled with rage, and he revealed all his force. From Sky and from Olympus at once he advanced in a hail of lightning. The lightning bolts690 flew from his powerful hands in a dense rain of blazing thunder, a thick, flaming tornado. All around, life-bearing Gaia screamed, as she burned. Limitless forests howled loudly in the fire. All the Earth, the streams of Ocean, and the barren Sea695 boiled. Hot blasts engulfed the Earth-born Titans, as never-ending flames reached the shining upper air. Strong though they were, the blazing flare of lightning and thunder blinded their eyes. The unspeakable heat bore down even on Chaos.700 It seemed to those who had eyes for seeing and ears for hearing as though Earth and broad Sky were coming together. So loud was the thud of Gaia being fallen upon and and of Ouranos as he fell on her from above. So great was the sound of the gods as they came together in strife.705 The winds caused shaking and clouds of dust, producing flashing thunder and blazing lightning, missiles of great Zeus, and they brought clamour and shouting into the midst of both sides. An infinite roar of deadly strife arose, and the power of their actions was revealed.710 The battle turned against the Titans. Before this they charged at one another and fought without end through powerful encounters. Now in the front ranks, Kottos, Briareus, and Gyges, hungry for battle, roused up bitter war. From their powerful hand they sent three hundred rocks715 flying, their missiles casting shadows over the Titans. They sent the Titans down beneath the wide-wayed Earth and bound them fast in painful chains, vanquishing them, powerful though they were, with their hands.

The Fate of the Titans & the timê of the Hundred Handers

As far beneath Earth as Sky is above Earth720 just so far beneath Earth is misty Tartarus. Falling for nine days and nine nights from Sky, a bronze anvil would reach Earth on the tenth day. Equally from Earth to misty Tartarus, falling again for nine days and nine nights from Earth,725 a bronze anvil would arrive in Tartarus on the tenth day. A fence of bronze runs around it. All around Tartarus, three rows of Night pour down, encircling his neck. Above him, the roots of Earth and the barren Sea grow down. There the Titan gods, in misty darkness, are hidden away through the plans of cloud-gathering Zeus730 in a moldy place, at the furthest boundaries of vast Gaia. For the Titans, there is no exit. Poseidon made the doors of bronze, and a wall runs along on both sides. There Kottos, Briareus, and great-hearted Gyges reside, jailers trusted by aegis-bearing Zeus.735 [Hesiod now provides an extended description of the geography and most famous inhabitants of Tartarus, including Hades, Persephone, Cerberus, the river Styx and many others. This long digression, which we will skip over, answers a fundamental question for the ancient Greeks: what will the afterlife be like? What awaits all of us in the underworld? Because he has become the instrument of the Muses, Hesiod, like all Muse-inspired poets, has access to this knowledge. But can we trust these capricious goddesses? After all, they may know how to tell the truth, but they also know how to tell lies indistinguishable from the truth. We really have no choice but to trust them, since we have no other way of finding out what awaits us in Tartarus. After the digression on Tartarus, Hesiod resumes the main narrative of the Succession Myth, briefly returning to Zeus’s uncles and allies, the Hundred Handers and then moving onto Zeus’s last obstacle before he can become ruler of the universe: the monster Typhoeus.] There exist Tartarus’ shining gates and bronze threshold,811 unmovable, fixed in place by far-reaching, ever-growing roots. Beyond and far-removed from all the other gods dwell the Titans, beyond even gloomy Chaos. The famous allies of loud-thundering Zeus815 make their homes there by the foundations of Ocean — Kottos and Gyges. Briareus too: the loud-roaring Earthshaker, Poseidon, made him his son-in-law, and gave him his own daughter, Cympoleia, to marry.

The Typhonomachy

But, once Zeus had driven the Titans from the Sky,820 vast Gaia gave birth to her youngest son, Typhoeus, by intercourse with Tartarus through gold-adorned Aphrodite. His hands were strong, able to accomplish his works, and the feet of this powerful god never grew weary. From his shoulders a hundred snake heads grew, flicking825 dark tongues of a terrifying serpent. Fire shot out from his eyes under the brows on his monstrous heads. From all the heads, fire blazed wherever he looked. In all the terrifying heads were voices sending out unspeakable sounds. At one time,830 they made sounds understood by the gods; at another time, came the voice of a proud, invincible bull, bellowing its strength; then the voice of a lion with shameless spirit, and at another time, like that of puppies, a wonder to hear. Sometimes he hissed, and the high mountains echoed back the sound.835 On that day a deed beyond all help would have been accomplished, and he would have ruled over mortals and immortals, if the father of gods and men had not thought quickly. He thundered hard and powerful. All around, Earth resounded horribly, so too broad Sky above,840 the Sea, streams of Ocean, and regions underneath Earth. Tall Olympus shook under the immortal feet of the king as he set out, and Earth groaned. Searing heat from both of them oppressed the violet-coloured Sea, from thunder and lightning, and from the monster’s fire,845 from scorching winds and flaming thunderbolts. All the Earth boiled, and Sky and Sea too. Around and over shores and sea cliffs giant waves raged beneath the immortals’ onslaught, and an immense earthquake began. Hades, lord of the dead below, trembled;850 so did the Titans, allies of Kronos, in the lowest parts of Tartarus, from the endless noise of dreadful battle-strife. When Zeus unleashed his mighty wrath and seized his weapons — thunder, lightning, and blazing thunderbolts — he leaped from Olympus and struck. He engulfed855 all the appalling heads of the terrifying monster in fire. And once he overpowered him, flogging him with blows, Typhoeus crashed down, his limbs broken, and vast Gaia groaned. Flames shot up from the thunderstruck lord, in the dark, rugged valleys of the mountain860 where he was struck. Most of vast Gaia was on fire from the unspeakable heat, and she melted like tin made molten in open cauldrons through the arts of craftsmen, or as iron, which is strongest of all, mastered by blazing fire in mountain valleys,865 melts in the shining Earth through Hephaestus’ skill. Just so, Gaia was melting from the blaze of flaming fire. Zeus, overwhelmed with rage, hurled him into broad Tartarus. From Typhoeus comes the wrath of wet-blowing winds, except for Notos the South, Boreas the North, and Zephyr the West Wind —870 these come from the gods, a great blessing for mortals. The other winds blow without purpose on the Sea, a great torment for mortals; they rage with evil blasts. They start howling when you least expect them, scattering ships, and the sailors drown. No remedy exists for their evil,875 not for the men who encounter them at Sea. So too across the infinite blooming Earth, they destroy the lovely fields of Earth-dwelling women and men, and fill Gaia with dust and grievous turmoil.

Zeus becomes king

But when the carefree gods had accomplished their labour, and decided the issue of honours with the Titans, by force, then they urged far-seeing Olympian Zeus, by the shrewd advice of Gaia, to be king and ruler of the immortals. And he skillfully divided honours among them.885

The Wives of Zeus

1. Metis Zeus, now king of the gods, chose as his first wife Metis, because, among gods and mortal men and women, she knows most. But when she was about to give birth to the goddess owl-eyed Athena, he deceived her mind with a trick. Using wily words, he placed her down into his belly,890 by the shrewd advice of Gaia and starry Ouranos. For they advised him, so that no one else of the eternal gods, other than Zeus, should ever hold the honour of kingship. From Metis, wise children were destined be born, first a daughter, owl-eyed Tritogeneian Athena,895 endowed with courage and prudent counsel, equal to her father. But then, after that, she was fated to bear a son, a king of gods and men, born with overwhelming strength. Before that happened, Zeus placed her down into his belly, so the goddess might advise him on good and evil.900 2. Themis Second, Zeus brought home bright, just Themis, who bore the Seasons — Good Governance, Justice, and flowering Peace — who oversee the works of mortal men and women. And she bore the Fates, whom shrewd Zeus gave an immense honour — Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Allotter and Atropos the Unbending:905 for mortal women and men, they assign possession of good and evil. 3. Eurynome Third, Eurynome, the daughter of Ocean, a goddess of enticing beauty, bore to Zeus the fair-cheeked Graces — glittering Aglaia, joyful Euphrosyne, and lovely festive Thalia. From their eyes, as they look our way, desire radiates910 and loosens our limbs. Under their eyelids, beauty inhabits their glances. 4. Demeter Then Zeus went to the bed of bountiful Demeter. She bore white-armed Persephone, whom Aidoneus seized from her mother, and shrewd Zeus gave his permission. 5. Mnemosyne (Memory) Then Zeus fell in love with lovely-haired Mnemosyne.915 She bore the Muses who wear gold ribbons in their hair, nine daughters whose delight is festivals and the joy of song. 6. Leto Leto too joined in love with aegis-bearing Zeus, and bore Apollo and arrow-pouring Artemis, captivating children surpassing all of Sky’s descendants.920 7. Hera Last of all, Zeus made Hera his lush and fertile wife. She gave birth to youthful Hebê, Ares, and Eileithyia, joining in love with the king of gods and men. Zeus himself gave birth from his head to owl-eyed Athena, fearsome rouser of battles, leader of armies, never wearying925 queen who rejoices at the clash of arms, wars, and battles. But Hera raged in strife with her husband, and joining in intercourse with no one, gave birth to renowned Hephaestus, who surpassed all the descendants of Ouranos in skill of his hands. More and more children From Amphitrite and the resounding Earth-Shaker,930 huge powerful Triton was born, who in the Sea’s depths with his beloved mother and lordly father lives in a golden palace, an awesome god. And to Ares, the piercer of shields, Aphrodite of Cythera bore Fear and Terror — awful gods who cause panic in crowded battalions of men,935 in ice-cold war with city-destroying Ares — and Harmony, whom bold Cadmus made his wife. Maia, daughter of Atlas, bore famous Hermes, the immortals’ messenger, to Zeus, after she came into his marriage bed. Cadmus’ daughter, Semele, joining in love with Zeus.940 bore a shining son, joyful Dionysus — a mortal mother and an immortal son. Both are gods now. Alkmene bore might Herakles, joining in love with cloud-gathering Zeus. Famous broken-footed Hephaestus made Aglaia,945 youngest of the Graces his blooming wife. Golden-haired Dionysus took blonde Ariadne, daughter of Minos as his blooming wife. Zeus, son of Kronos made her ageless and immortal. The heroic son of fair-ankled Alcmene,950 mighty Herakles, once he finished his grievous Labours, made the daughter of great Zeus and Hera who walks in golden sandals his revered wife, on snow-covered Olympus, Happy and blessed, who finished his great work and lives among the immortals, free from pain and old age forever.955 To Helios, the Sun who never grows weary, the famous daughter of Ocean, Perseis, bore Circe and king Aietes. Aietes, son of Helios who shines on mortals, married fair-cheeked Idyia, a daughter of Ocean, the perfect river. She bore fair-ankled Medea960 mastered in lovely intercourse through gold-adorned Aphrodite. [The Theogony continues for another 50 or so lines, as Hesiod turns to the children born to goddesses who had sex with mortal men: Demeter, Eos (the Dawn goddess), Thetis, Aphrodite, Circe and so on. In this way, Hesiod ends his poem in a glorious celebration of procreation, as all the gods take their cue from Zeus, joining in love with each other and with mortal men and women to produce more and more gods and heroes.]]]>

L5 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Pandora (Hesiod's Theogony and Works & Days)

nkuruppu — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 19:19:24 +0000

Lesson 5 Primary Readings: Prometheus and Pandora Notes:

Hesiod recounts the myth of Prometheus’ theft of fire and the creation o1f the first woman, Pandora, twice: first in the Theogony and then again in the Works and Days. The two versions each contain unique information and have different emphases. It is important to read each version carefully to compare them and to build a fuller version of the myth by taking both accounts into consideration.
The Theogony version emphasizes the events that happen at Mekone concerning the shared meal and the origins of the sacrificial ritual.
The Works and Days version has a fuller description of the creation of Pandora by all the gods, with an explanation of her name related to this. She is call “Pan-dora” (All-Gifts) because all the gods gave her gifts, according to Hesiod. This version also includes Pandora’s famous jar in which Hope is contained.

Hesiod, Theogony (lines 507-616)

(translated by S. Ahmed and A. Rappold) Iapetos brought home the daughter of Ocean — enticing, beautiful-ankled Clymene and carried her straight into their shared bed. She bore him these children:

Atlas, strong-hearted Menoitios, obsessed with fame510 Prometheus, with pre-planning, clever in hindsight, ignorant: Epimetheus.

Epimetheus:

first brought suffering to working men when he accepted the gift: Zeus’s woman moulded515 in the form of a young virgin.

arrogant Menoitios:

blasted into Darkness by far-seeing Zeus, — with a flash of lightning and the lingering smell of sulphur — destroyed by his reckless, out-of-control aggression.520

Atlas:

stands before the clear-voiced Hesperides, at the ends of the earth. he labours under the heaviest of obligations: the wide heavens press down on his head and hands, without rest such was the duty allotted to him by cunningly intelligent Zeus.525

Subtle-planning Prometheus:

shackled by Zeus with punishments unbreakable and excruciating: Zeus drove a spike right through his chest and sent a long-winged eagle to torture him.

Again and again the eagle gorged on his immortal liver:530 every day, the long-winged bird feasted, but each night, the liver grew back, exactly as before.

That bird was killed by the son of enticing, beautiful-ankled Alkmene: Herakles. He cured this plague, this living death, and freed the son of Iapetos from his maddening pain.535 This was not opposed by the will of the one who rules on high: Olympian Zeus. After all, Zeus had always planned that the glory of Theban-born Heracles would spread far and wide across the earth. So Zeus multiplied the honour of his legendary son by setting aside his old anger, though bile still filled his heart because,540 though he was Kronos’ heir, and held clear superiority,

Prometheus had, so many times, tried to outwit him.

As had happened, once upon a time:

The gods and mortals could not decide on a fair division of sacrificial honours

at Mekone.

545Prometheus eagerly cut a large bull into two portions and offered this as a compromise, seeking to outwit Zeus.

To Zeus he offered one portion: the best meat and the entrails rich with fat but all hidden inside a sack of skin and stomach.

To men he offered another: the white bones of the bull but cleverly arranged 550 and all hidden under a covering of delicious, shining-white fat.

The father of gods and men said to him: “Well, son of Iapetus, you never miss a chance to show off your status to the other kings, but you might be a bit ripe in the head — this solution is needlessly partisan.” As he spoke, there was a sneer on the face of Zeus, who knows immovable plans.555 Crooked-minded Prometheus responded, though he couldn’t help smiling softly, keeping in mind his greater deception: “Zeus, most glorious, most magnificent among the gods who are forever: choose whichever portion best suits you.” He spoke, planning deception. . Zeus who knows imperishable plans560 knew already — how could he have failed to recognize the deception? His mind had already foreseen how suffering would first come to mortal men and how this choice would bring it about. So, with both hands, he chose the second portion, wrapped in white fat. Anger chased out every other thought and bile choked his heart,565 when, out in the open, he saw the white bones of the bull and their clever arrangement. By that decision, even now, men and women across the earth honour the immortals, by offering them the smoke of white bones from blazing altars. Cloud-gathering Zeus spoke, his expression strained: “Son of Iaptetus, you never miss a chance to show off your intellect.570 But you’re a bit ripe in the head; you just can’t stop playing tricks.” His anger simmered as he said this, Zeus who knows imperishable plans. From that point onwards, his mind was occupied, plotting a response to the deception First, he withheld the power of weariless fire from the people of the ash-spear:

mortal men,575

who inhabit the earth but the helpful son of Iapetos outwitted him by stealing back weariless fire. Though its blaze was clear from far away, he hid it in a hollow fennel stalk. This provocation gnawed at the deepest core of high-thundering Zeus. And his heart again filled with bile when, out in the open, he saw the clear blaze of fire — now in the hands of men.580

As a trade for the fire, Zeus devised wicked suffering for mankind. The renowned, broken-footed smith moulded Earth into the shape of a virginal girl, cheeks blushing modestly, according to the plans of Kronos’ son. The owl-eyed goddess Athena was in charge of her clothing and adornment:

for her body, a dress of silver-white, nearly transparent585 over the face: a veil woven by Athena’s own hands — its appearance, miraculous. throughout her hair: a crown of wild-flowers, newly blossomed, provoking desire-. All was arranged by Pallas Athena.

Onto her head: a golden diadem made by the renowned, broken-footed-god. He shaped and perfected it with his own hands, to please his father Zeus:590 Across it, he overlaid intricate scenes — their appearance, miraculous—

of monsters of earth and sea, many and massive, but all contained within the diadem. He depicted them with such allure, so miraculous, that you’d swear the animals were alive. The woman was Zeus’ trick: a beautiful evil in return for something good.595 Next, he revealed her to the gathered assembly of gods and men. Her appearance was a testament to the skill of the owl-eyed daughter of a mighty father. All the immortal gods and mortal men gazed upon he r— her appearance, miraculous — as they beheld this inescapable trap, irresistible to men. The species of female women originated with her and600 she was the start of that whole destructive race, this terrible plague for mankind. They squat within the homes of mortal men, unbearable in Poverty, barely tolerable in Plenty: Just like:

bees, within their domed hives,605 work to feed the drones — where they go, hard work follows. Every moment of the day, from dawn to dusk the bees exhaust themselves, laying out white honeycomb while the drones lounge inside the domed hives, the work of one goes straight into the belly of the other.610

It’s just the same for mortal men: women are the bearers of suffering, created by high-thundering Zeus. Wherever women go, hard work follows. Zeus gave one more evil in return for the good: [Option 1:] Let’s say someone manages to avoid marriage, women, and all those anxieties —615 disaster then comes in old age: since he chose not to marry, who takes care of him at life’s end? And even if his needs are met in life — well then, after death there are no children to carry on his legacy. His hard work profits only distant relatives.620 [Option 2:] Let’s say someone chooses the fate of marriage: Either he manages to find a wife he can trust, their hearts perfectly matched but still lives in fear that this comfort will one day give way to suffering. Or he marries an abusive type, a troublemaker — that is a source of chest-clutching anxiety for the rest of his life.625 Headache and heartache too. Trust me, this suffering is incurable. The moral: you can’t deceive or outwit the mind of Zeus. Not even the son of Iapetos, Prometheus, the helpful-trickster could get out from under his anger. Instead, he was crushed by a heavy sentence and despite his slippery mind, was shackled in chains.630

Hesiod, Works and Days (lines 1-106)

(translated by S. Ahmed, R. Nickel, and A. Rappold) Muses from Pieria, you who bestow fame through song come and tell of Zeus, celebrating your father in song. Through him, mortal men are famous and not famous, spoken of and not spoken of, by the will of great Zeus. With ease he makes a man strong; with ease he crushes the mighty.5 With ease he degrades a distinguished man and exalts the obscure. With ease he straightens one who is bent over and shrivels the arrogant. High-thundering Zeus, who dwells in lofty palaces. Hear, see, and listen; with justice keep our laws straight, you for your part; I for mine would tell Perses the way things are.10 There’ss not only one kind of Strife. On Earth there are two. The one, when you see her, you would praise; the other deserves blame. They possess diverse natures. The one promotes war — that evil — and division, the cruel one. No mortals love her, but by Necessity,15 through the plans of the immortals, they honour this Strife, this burden. The other one, dark Night bore her first. The high-throned son of Kronos who dwells in the Sky, set her down in the roots of Earth, and for men she is far better. Even a deadbeat, even him, she’s able to rouse to work.20 A person in need of work sees another man, a rich man eager to plow and to sow and build a good house. One neighbour competes with another as he rushes toward riches. This Strife is good for mortals. Potter vies with potter, carpenter with carpenter.25 Beggar is jealous of beggar, poet of poet. Perses, set these words in your heart. Don’t allow Strife, who rejoices in evil, keep you from work, as you watch for quarrels and eavesdrop in the marketplace. The season for marketplace quarrels is short30 for the man who hasn’t yet stored up this year’s crop, harvested in season, the crop that Gaia brings, the grain of Demeter. Once you have enough of this, you can promote quarrels and division over others’ possessions. You’ll get no second chance to do this work.

So come, let’s settle our dispute35

with straight judgments, which come from Zeus and are best. We’d already divided the farm. But you kept on taking and carried off almost everything, always flattering the kings, bribe-eaters; they specialize in making these kinds of judgments.

They’re fools: when asked to divide in half, they give the whole thing,40 and soft — unfamiliar with the value of a hard day’s work. For most men, the gods hide the way to make a living — the easy way, at least. Otherwise, you’d work only a single day, harvest food for the year and spend the rest relaxing. Soon you’d hang up your plow-handles to dry,45 finished with the work of oxen and much-enduring mules. Any hope for this carefree life was concealed by an angry Zeus — his heart, filled with bile at crooked-minded Prometheus’ deception — his mind, focused on a scheme: how to bring painful suffering to mankind. First, Zeus hid fire. But the helpful son of Iapetos,50 stealing from wise-minded Zeus, gave it back to mankind by hiding it in a fennel stalk, deceiving Zeus who delights in thunder. In anger, cloud-gathering Zeus addressed him:

“Son of Iapetus, you never miss a chance to show off your intellect. You’re pleased with yourself, because you stole fire and outwitted me.55 This will prove disastrous for you. For mankind too. In exchange for fire, I’ll devise a truly wicked trade: a gift all will choose to accept with open arms, willingly embracing their own suffering.”

As he said this, he couldn’t stop laughing: the father of men and of gods.

Next, Zeus issued these commands: 60 to Hephaistos, famous for his creations:

“make a mixture of earth and water and pour into it a human voice and the same spirit as well. Mould its face to resemble a goddess and shape its body like that of a young virgin, innocently exciting desire.”

to Athena:65

“teach her to craft and weave careful art upon the loom”

to gold-adorned Aphrodite:

“anoint her with allure, body-devouring longing and painful need.”

to Hermes, Watchdog Slayer and Guide, he commanded:

“install a bitch’s mind and a criminal’s heart.” 70

They all obeyed the commands of Kronos’ son, king Zeus. The renowned, broken-footed god swiftly moulded from Earth the shape of a virginal girl, cheeks blushing modestly, according to the plans of Kronos’ son. divine, owl-eyed Athena was in charge of clothing and adornment:

the divine Graces and queenly Persuasion set onto75 the inviting skin of her neck golden bands. For her hair, a crown of spring blossoms from the beautifully-coiffed Seasons.

All was arranged invitingly across her naked skin by Pallas Athena. But in her breast, Hermes the Guide, Watchdog Slayer, installed a tricky, lying tongue and a criminal’s heart.80 All was done according to the plans of loud-thundering Zeus. Last of all, the gods’ messenger placed a voice in her and announced her name: Pandora: because because all the Olympian gods gave her gifts, though she would be a plague for labouring men. Finally, when he’d completed his inescapable trap, irresistible to men,85 father Zeus sent out Hermes, the Watchdog Slayer, to Epimetheus. The swift messenger of the gods brought the gift. But Epimetheus only considered in hindsight Prometheus’ forewarning:

“Never accept gifts from Olympian Zeus. Send everything back, Don’t bring it into your house, or I fear mortals will suffer for it.”90

Only after Epimetheus accepted the gift, after he held suffering in his arms, did he understand. Before:

all men, across the earth, used to prosper free from suffering, hard work and painful disease: for men, these are death-bringers because those who weather these evils become old before their time.95

Then:

The woman removed the heavy lid of the jar with her own hands, and driven by her own thoughts, unleashed sorrows for men, death-bringers. Hope alone remained in its unbreakable home, caught underneath the lip of the jar. Its escape was only a short flight away, but, just in time, she slammed the lid down. 100 All according to the plan of aegis-bearing, cloud-gathering Zeus.

Now:

Ten thousand or more sorrows roam free among all mankind. Suffering is inescapable on land and sea. Worse, diseases stalk human beings day and night, spreading everywhere, out of control; for men, they bring wails of grief, 105 silently since their divine voice was removed by cunningly wise Zeus.

The moral: in the end, there is no way to evade the mind of Zeus.

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L8 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 2

nkuruppu — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:19:07 +0000

The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite Translated by E. Bodner and R. Nickel

Aphrodite’s Great Speech

Then Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, answered him:

“Anchises, most honoured of death-bound humans, have courage and do not fear too much in your heart. Have no fear you will suffer any evil from me or the other carefree gods, since you are most dear to them.195

You will have a dear son who will rule among the Trojans, and children will be born to children throughout time. His name will be Aeneas because dreadful distress held me since I fell upon the bed of a mortal man.

Ganymede

Of mortal men and women, your race200 has always been especially like the gods in beauty and form. Zeus the counselor abducted golden-haired Ganymede, on account of his beauty, to be among the immortals and pour wine for the gods throughout the house of Zeus — wondrous to behold and honoured by all the immortals —205 drawing the red nectar out of a golden bowl.

But unceasing sorrow took hold of Tros, his father; he did not know at all where the divine whirlwind had carried off his dear son. Without end, he cried aloud for his son for all his days. Zeus pitied him and gave to him a ransom for his son,210 brisk-trotting horses, the kind that carry the immortals. He gave them as a gift for him to keep. Hermes the messenger, Watch-dog Slayer, told him everything at the command of Zeus, that Ganymede would be immortal and ageless like the gods. When Tros heard Zeus’s news,215 no longer did he lament, but rejoiced within his heart and joyously rode his storm-footed steeds.

Tithonus

Likewise Eos, golden-throned goddess of the Dawn, abducted Tithonus, a man like the gods, and also from your family. Eos went on her way to ask the dark-clouded son of Kronos220 that he become immortal and live forever. Zeus nodded assent and fulfilled her wish.

Fool that she was, queenly Eos did not think in her heart to ask for youth, for the scraping away of destructive old-age.

As long as he possessed youth, which everyone desires,225 he remained pleasing to golden-throned, early-born Eos and dwelt by the streams of Ocean at the edges of the Earth. But when the first grey hair came forth from his beautiful head and noble cheeks, then queenly Eos kept away from his bed.230 She cared for him still, keeping him inside her palace, with food and ambrosia and giving him beautiful clothes.

But once loathsome old age bore down hard upon him and he could no longer move or even raise his limbs, this plan seemed best to her in her heart:235 She set him down in a small room and closed its shining doors. Still his voice continues to flow without end, but no vigour remains in his once supple, strong limbs.

Immortal like this — I would not choose for you to live forever among the immortals in this.240 But if, you could live remaining as you are now in beauty and form and be called my husband, grief would not then envelop my shrewd mind.

But quickly now old age, which does not discriminate, will envelop you. Without pity, it soon stands besides all humans —245 destructive, debilitating, despised by the gods.

But for me, there will be much abuse among the immortal gods for all my days, endlessly, because of you. They used to tremble before my intimate whisperings and cunning strategies; with these I once forced all the immortals to have sex with mortal women.250 My plans once overpowered them all. But now my mouth will no longer dare to mention this among the immortals, since I was completely blinded, miserably, unspeakably deluded – I was driven out of my mind: I slept with a mortal and conceived a child in my womb.255

The Mountain-dwelling Nymphs

When first the sun’s light shines upon this child, deep-bosomed, mountain-dwelling nymphs will raise him.

They belong neither among mortals nor immortals. They live for a long time and eat ambrosial food.260 Gracefully they move in lovely dances with the gods. The Silens — half-horse, half-man — and clear-sighted Hermes mingle in love with them in a charming corner of their caves.

When they are born, fir trees and tall-crowned oaks start growing on the all-nourishing Earth;265 in beauty they flourish on lofty mountains. Sky-high they stand, and mortals call them sanctuaries of the immortals and never cut them down with iron.

But when the fate of death stands beside them, first these beautiful trees wither upon the Earth;270 the bark begins to decay all around, branches fall away, and joined together the soul [of nymph and tree] leaves the light of the sun.

These nymphs will keep my son with them and raise him. When first much-desirable youth takes hold of him, goddesses will bring him here and show you the child.275 But I, so that I might explain all that I have in mind, will come again bringing my son in his fifth year

When first you set eyes on our son, you will rejoice as you look at him. For he will most resemble the gods. Straightaway you will lead him to windy Ilium.280

If any mortal man asks you what mother conceived your dear son in her womb, say this to him, remembering what I command you:

‘They say he’s the child of a nymph with eyes like flower buds, one of those who inhabit this forest-clad mountain.’ 285

But if you speak out and foolishly boast

you mingled in love with

the fair-garlanded

goddess of Kythera,

Zeus in anger will blast you with his smoldering thunderbolt. Everything has been told to you.

Ponder it in your mind. Keep it there and do not name me. Respect the wrath of the gods.”290

Once she finished speaking,

she darted straight up

into the windy Sky.

Farewell,

divine guardian

of well-built Cyprus.

Having made my start with you, I shall pass on to another song.293

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L9 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 1

nkuruppu — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 18:53:17 +0000

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 1 Translated by E. Bodner and R. Nickel

Invocation

Demeter, flaxen-haired, formidable goddess: with her I begin my song, and with her slender-ankled daughter whom Aidoneus abducted. Loud-thundering, wide-seeing Zeus gave his permission, distant from Demeter of the golden-sword and glorious fruit.

The Abduction of Persephone

The girl was playing with Ocean’s ample-breasted daughters,5 gathering flowers — roses, crocus, and lovely violets, all along the soft-meadow, irises, hyacinth, and a narcissus flower: Gaia made it grow — a trap for the maiden whose face was like a flower bud — part of Zeus’s plan, showing her support for the All-Receiver. Radiantly it glittered, an object of wonder for all to see,10 immortal gods and human mortals. From its roots a hundred blossoms grew, their scent, the sweetest perfume. All the wide heaven above, all the Earth, and the salty swell of the sea laughed. Amazed, she reached out with both hands15 to take the delightful toy, but the wide-wayed Earth gaped open. There, along the Plain of Nysa, the All-Receiving son of Cronus who has many names leapt out with his immortal horses. He seized her against her will and on his golden chariot he carried her away wailing. With high-pitched screams she cried out,20 calling to her father, highest and best son of Cronos, But no one of the immortals nor of mortal men heard her cries, not even the olive trees with their glorious fruit, except for the carefree daughter of Persaios, Hecate of the shining diadem; from her cave she heard.25 So did lord Helios, glorious son of Hyperion, as the girl called upon her father, the son of Cronus. But far away he was seated apart from the gods in a temple where many come to worship receiving rich sacrifices from mortal men. Zeus set the plan in motion, and her uncle30 who receives and commands many, Cronus’ son who has many names carried her away with his mortal horses against her will. As long as she saw the Earth, and starry sky, the swift-flowing, fish-filled sea, and the Sun’s rays, she still hoped to see35 her beloved mother and the community of the everlasting gods. Hope still enchanted her great mind, even as she grieved.

Demeter’s Search

The mountain peaks and the sea’s depths echoed back her immortal voice, and her queenly mother heard. Sharp grief took hold of her heart. With her hands,40 she tore the headband around her fragrant hair, and cast the deep blue veil from her shoulders. Like a bird over land and sea she rushed in frenzied terror. But no god, no mortal was willing to give her an accurate account,45 no bird came as a truth-bearing messenger. For nine days and nights queenly Deo wandered over the Earth with blazing torches in her hands. In her grief she ate no ambrosia, drank no sweet nectar, nor washed her flesh.50

Hekate and Helios intervene

But when the tenth Dawn brought her light, Hekate came to her, holding a torch in her hands. She came to tell her what she knew:

“Honoured Demeter, Bringer of the Seasons, Splendid Giver of Gifts, who of the heavenly gods or mortal men55 abducted Persephone and brought this grief to your heart? I heard her voice but did not see with my eyes who it was. Everything I’m swiftly telling you is true.”

So spoke Hekate. But the daughter of fair-haired Rhea gave no response. Swiftly she rushed away, together with Hecate,60 holding blazing torches in her hands. They came to Helios who watches over gods and men. They stood before his horses, and the divine goddess questioned him:

“Helios, honour me — like you, I am a god — if ever I pleased your heart and spirit with word or action.65 The daughter I bore — sweet child, still growing, noble in beauty — I heard her voice throbbing through the empty air, as though she was being attacked, but with my eyes I saw nothing. Since you look down from the sky with your rays over all the Earth and sea,70 tell me truly if you have seen my beloved child anywhere. What god or mortal has seized her and taken her against her will away from me?”

So she spoke and Hyperion’s son answered her,

“Daughter of flaxen-haired Rhea, noble Demeter,75 you will know, for I respect and pity you greatly in your grief for your slender-ankled child. No one else Of the immortals is responsible other than cloud-gathering Zeus, who gave her to Hades, your own brother, to be called his youthful wife. He has seized her and taken her80 crying aloud down to the misty darkness. But, goddess, cease your loud lamentation. You must not keep insatiable anger like this, in vain. No undignified son-in-law among the immortals is the commander of many, Hades, your own brother, born of the same seed. As for honour85 he received Fate’s allotment when first the three-fold division occurred. He dwells among those whom Fate assigned him to command.”

Once he finished speaking, he summoned his horses. At his call, They lightly bore away his swift chariot, like long-winged birds. But to her heart came a more fierce and dog-like grief.90

Demeter comes to Eleusis

Angry at the dark-clouded son of Cronus and abandoning the assembly of the gods and lofty Olympus, she made her way to the cities and rich fields of men and women, concealing her true form over a long time. No one of men and deep-girded women when they saw her, recognized her,95 until she came to the house of wise-minded Keleos who was then a leader in fragrant Eleusis. She sat by the road, grieving in her heart, near the Maidens’ Well where the citizens fetch water, in the shade which an olive bush produced from above.100 She looked like an old woman, born long ago, Excluded from childbirth and the gifts of garland-loving Aphrodite. Such are children’s nurses and housekeepers in the echoing palaces of kings who administer laws. The daughters of Eleusinian Keleus saw her105 when they came to fetch water easily drawn into bronze pitchers to carry home to the beloved house of their father: four of them, just like goddesses, in the flower of their youth — , Kallidike, Kleisidike, and lovely Demo, and Kallithoe, who was eldest of all.110 They did not recognize her — gods are difficult for mortals to see. Standing near, they spoke to her with winged words:

“Who are you, old woman, of people born long ago and where are you from? Why did you go away from the city and not approach the houses? There, throughout their shady halls, are women115 as old as you and younger ones too who would welcome you both with kind words and gestures.”

So they spoke. And she, a queen among goddesses, answered with this story:

“Dear children, whoever you are of delicate women, greetings. I will tell you. Surely it is not unseemly,120 when you ask me to tell the truth. I will give you my name: Doso.

My revered mother gave it to me.

From Crete, over the wide back of the sea, I came, unwillingly. With violent force pirate men abducted me against my will.125 They set sail for Thorikos in their swift ship, and once there, the women all in a group disembarked onto the land, and the men too. They began to prepare dinner beside the ship’s stern cables. But my spirit desired no sweet-tasting dinner. Secretly hastening through the dark land,130 I fled my arrogant commanders, so that they would receive no benefit from the price of selling me, a captive not paid for, as a slave. So I came wandering here.

I don’t know at all

what land this is or what people are born here. But may all those who have houses on Olympus135 give you wedded husbands and, with them, children to bear, when your parents wish it.

Please take pity on me, maidens.

Give me clear and honest advice, so that I may know dear children, to whose house I should go, to the home of what man and woman, so that I may work for them, eagerly, the kind of work suitable for an elderly woman?140 Holding a new-born in my arms, expertly I would care for the child and watch over the house. I would make the master’s bed in the nook of a well-built bedroom and supervise the women at their work.”

So spoke the goddess. At once the unwed maiden,145 Kallidike, the most beautiful of Keleus’s daughters, answered her:

“Sweet mother, though we grieve, we humans are forced by Necessity to bear the gifts of the gods, for they are much stronger. I will advise you clearly in these matters and name the men who have great power and honour here,150 leaders of the community who protect the city’s battlements with their advice and straight judgments: prudent Triptolemos and Dioklos, Polyxeinos, and blameless Eumolpos, Dolichos, and our own noble father.155

The wives of all of these men preside over their houses. None these women on first sight will exclude you from her house, dishonouring your appearance. They will accept you. For you are truly godlike.

If you are willing, wait here, that we may go160 to our father’s house and tell all these things right through to our deep-girded mother, Metaneira, in the hope that she may urge you to come to our house and not seek out the house of others.

Her only son is being raised in the well-built halls, born late in her life, but much desired and gladly welcomed.165 If you care for him and he reaches the measure of youth, easily anyone of delicate women, seeing you, will be jealous. Our mother will give such great rewards for his rearing.”

So she spoke. Demeter nodded her head in assent. The maidens, fillingtheir shining pitchers, left, pleased with themselves.170 Soon they arrived at their father’s great house, and quickly told their mother what they had seen and heard. She ordered them to go quickly and summon the goddess, for an immense wage. Just as deer or calves in spring time leap through a meadow, satisfying their hearts with food,175 so they, holding up the folds of their lovely, fine robes, darted down the hollow carriage road. Their unbound hair floated all around each one’s shoulders, like a crocus flower. They found the illustrious goddess near the road, where earlier they had left her. Back to their dear father’s house180 they led the way. The goddess, grieving in her heart, walked behind them, veiling her head entirely. Her dark robe coiled all around her slender ankles.

Demeter in the home of Keleus and Metaneira

Quickly they arrived at the house of Zeus-cherished Keleus. They walked through the corridor where their queenly mother185 sat near a pillar of the strongly made roof, holding a child in her bosom: a newborn. The maidens ran to her. But as the goddess crossed over the threshold, her head reached the ceiling and she filled the doorway with a divine radiance. Reverence, astonished awe, and pale fear seized the lady.190 She yielded her seat and urged the goddess to sit. But Demeter, giver of splendid gifts, bringer of seasons, did not wish to sit upon the radiant couch. In silence, she waited, casting her beautiful eyes downward, until hard working Iambe placed195 a well-built chair for her and threw over it a silver-shining fleece

Iambe and Metaneira console Demeter

Sitting down thre, Demeter held her veil in her hands. Speechless and grieving she sat on the chair for a long time. She did not greet anyone, neither by word nor gesture. Without laughter, without tasting food and drink,200 she sat, wasting away with longing for her deep-girded daughter Until hard working Iambe, making faces at her side and telling her many jokes, moved the holy mistress to smile and laugh and have a gracious spirit once again. From that time forward, Iambe always pleased the goddess’s moods.205 Metaneira gave her a goblet filled with honey-sweet wine. But Demeter refused. She said it was not right for her to drink red wine. She urged her host to give her a mixture of water with barley-meal and soft pennyroyal to drink. Once the potion was made, Metaneira offered it to her, as had she requested.210 Accepting it to show respect, the great queen Deo [drank]. With these words, well-girded Metaneira began to speak:

“Greetings, Lady, since I suspect you are not from base parents, but good ones. Reverence shines forth from your eyes, and grace too, as if from law-ministering kings.215 Though we grieve, we humans are forced by Necessity to bear the gifts of the gods. For a yoke lies upon our necks. Now, since you came here, whatever I have will be here for you. Raise this child for me, a child the gods granted late-born and unexpected but still much desired by me.220 If you raise him and he reaches the measure of youth — easily anyone of these delicate women, seeing you, will be envious — then I will give you immense rewards for his rearing.”

Again well-garlanded Demeter spoke to her:

“You also, Lady, many greetings. May the gods grant you fortune.225 Eagerly I will take the child to raise for you, as you bid me. I will raise him and, I expect, neither a bewitching nor the undercutter will harm him through the neglect of his nurse. For I know an antidote much stronger than the woodcutter; I know a fine safeguard against baneful bewitchings.”230

Demeter and Demophoön

Speaking so, she took him into her fragrant bosom with immortal hands and his mother rejoiced in her heart. So the shining son of noble Keleus, Demophoön, whom well-girded Metaneira bore, she nursed in the halls.

And he grew like a god.235

He was eating no grain, nor sucking [the milk from his mother. For, by day, lovely-garlanded] Demeter anointed him with ambrosia, as if he were born of a god, while sweetly breathing over him and holding him in her bosom. But by night, she buried him in the force of the fire, like a fire-brand, in secret from his dear parents; to them she brought about a great wonder240 that he was growing so early; For he had become like the gods to look at. And she would have made him immortal and ageless, if not for the thoughtlessness of well-girded Metaneira, who, watching from her fragrant bedroom one night, spied this.

She shrieked and struck both thighs in terror.245

Fearing for her child, she was very misled by her heart, and wailing she spoke to him with winged words:

“My child, Demophoön, this stranger buried you in a great fire, and she causes mourning and baneful sorrow for me.”

So she spoke, lamenting.. And she, shining among goddesses, heard her.250 Angry with her, lovely-garlanded Demeter seized the dear child, whom Metaneira bore unexpected in the halls, from the fire with immortal hands and hurled him to the ground. With dreadful anger in her heart, she spoke to well-girded Metaneira.:255

“Humans are oblivious and without the sense to know their destiny, whether coming upon good or bad. You were incurably misled by your own foolishness. May the oath of the gods, the harsh Stygian water, know that I would have made the dear child immortal and ageless260 forever and I would have granted him imperishable honour.

Now he will not be able to flee mortality and death. Still, his honour will be ever-imperishable because on my knees he climbed and in my arms he slept. Through seasons and the passing years,265 the children of th Eleusinians will wage battle and hostile strife always with one another for all days.

I am Demeter, honour-holder, who is the greatest benefit and delight for immortals and mortals. Come, let all the people of the community build me a great temple270 and an altar below it, beneath the city and towering wall of Kallichoron atop the jutting hill.

I myself will reveal my secret rites, so that when you offer sacrifices reverently, you may appease my mind.”

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L10 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 2

nkuruppu — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 19:02:07 +0000

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 2 Translated by E. Bodner and R. Nickel At the end of Part 1, Metaneira had interrupted Demeter’s attempted apotheosis of Demophon. In anger, the goddess removed the infant from the fire, declared that he could now never be immortal. Now she doffs her mortal disguise and appears in full epiphany before a terrified Metaneira as she departs.

The Epiphany of Demeter

Speaking so, the goddess changed her size and form,275 thrusting away old age. Beauty breathed all around and over her. A lovely scent spread out from her fragrant robes, and a brilliance shone far off from the immortal skin of the goddess. Flaxen locks of hair draped her shoulders, and with radiant light, the sturdy house was filled like lightning.280 She walked out through the halls and immediately Metaneira’s knees weakened. She was speechless for a long time and did not at all remember to pick up her dear son from the floor. Her sisters heard his piteous cry and leapt down from their bed laden with tapestries.285 Picking up the child in her hands, one held him in her bosom. Another lit up the fire and a third ran with tender feet to raise up the child’s mother from her sweet-smelling bedroom. Gathering together, they bathed him and as he was struggling, they embraced him lovingly. But his heart was not soothed;290 for inferior nurses and nannies were holding him. All night long they were appeasing the illustrious goddess, trembling in fear, and when Dawn appeared, to mighty Keleus they spoke truthfully, as the goddess beautiful-garlanded Demeter commanded.295 He, summoning men from all over to an assembly, ordered them to build for lovely-haired Demeter a rich temple and an altar on the jutting hill. Very quickly they heard him speaking and obeyed. They made it, as he commanded. And it grew as though divine.300

Demeter causes a famine

When they accomplished the task, rushed with toil, they went, each of them, to go home.

But flaxen-haired Demeter

stayed sitting there,

apart from all the blessed gods,

wasting with longing for her deep-girded daughter.

So dreadful and dog-like a year she made for mortals305 on the all-nourishing Earth; for the Earth did not sprout any seed—

lovely garlanded Demeter concealed it.

Many curved ploughs oxen dragged through the fields in vain. Much white barley fell barren upon the Earth.

She would have destroyed the race of speech-endowed mortals310 with painful famine,

and deprived those who have their homes on Olympus of the splendid honour of gifts and sacrifices,

if Zeus had not noticed and contemplated in his heart.

First golden-winged Iris he called forth to summon lovely-haired Demeter, beautiful in form.315 So he spoke. And she obeyed Zeus, the dark-clouded son of Cronus. She ran between realms with swift feet. Arriving at the city of fragrant Eleusis, and found Demeter dark-robed in the temple, and speaking, addressed her with winged words:320

“Demeter, father Zeus with imperishable knowledge summons you to come join the race of everlasting gods. Come, don’t let my message from Zeus be unaccomplished.”

So she spoke, entreating. But Demeter’s heart was not persuaded. Then father Zeus sent out one after another325 all the blessed everlasting gods. One after another, they summoned her and offered many beautiful gifts and honours which she might wish to take from the immortals. But no one could persuade her heart or her thoughts, since she was very angry in her heart.

Firmly she rejected their words.330

She said she would not go upon sweet-smelling Olympus or make fruit spring up from the Earth, until she saw with her own eyes her fair-eyed daughter.

Hermes goes to Hades

When deep-thundering, wide-seeing Zeus heard this, he sent the Watch-dog Slayer with the golden wand into the dark Underworld335 to persuade Hades with gentle words and to lead holy Persephone out from the misty Darkness into the light among the gods, so that her mother could see her with her own eyes and end her anger. Hermes did not disobey. Swiftly he leapt down into340 the Earth’s hiding places leaving his home on Olympus. He found the king within his palace seated on his marriage bed beside his timid spouse, against her will and longing for her mother. Far away she [was devising a plan to punish the carefree gods for their actions.]345 Standing nearby the powerful Watch-dog Slayer addressed him:

“Dark-haired Hades, ruler of the dead, father Zeus urges you to bring noble Persephone out from the Darkness among the upper gods so that her mother might see her with her own eyes and cease her anger and deadly wrath350 against the immortals. She is plotting an enormous action, to destroy the weakened stock of Earth-born men and women hiding the seed beneath the ground, wiping out the honours of the immortals. She holds onto a deadly anger and no longer keeps company with the gods. Far away in a fragrant temple355 she sits, remaining in the rocky city of Eleusis.”

He finished speaking, and Aidoneus, the king of those below, smiled with his eyebrows. He did not disobey the command of king Zeus. Straightaway he gave orders to attentive Persephone,

“Go, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother.360 Keep a gentle heart and spirit in your breast and do not despair too much beyond others.

Among the immortals I will not be an unworthy husband, brother as I am of your father, Zeus.

When you are here,

you will rule over everything that lives and moves.365

Honours will be yours, the greatest among the immortals: Against those who commit injustice there will be vengeance for all days, when they fail to appease your anger with sacrificial offerings, performing holy rites and presenting fitting gifts.”

So he spoke, and thoughtful Persephone rejoiced.370 Straightaway she leapt up with joy. But he in secret gave her the sweet seed of a pomegranate to eat, keeping watch all around him, so that she might not remain all her days there beside revered Demeter of the dark robes. Then Hades, commander of many, harnessed375 immortal horses before a golden chariot. She mounted the chariot box; beside her the powerful Watch-dog Slayer, taking the reins and goad in his hands, sped away from the palace. The two horses took flight. Swiftly they completed the long journey. Neither the sea380 nor river waters, grassy valleys, mountain peaks held back the immortal horses’ onrush. High above they cut through the air as they sped along.

Persephone returns

Hermes stopped the horses and led the way to where well garlanded Demeter waited before her fragrant temple.

Seeing her daughter,385

she rushed forward like a maenad down a shady, wooded mountain. For her part, Persephone, [when she saw with her own eyes], jumped down, [leaving behind chariot and horses], to run to her mother [and threw her arms around her neck.] For Demeter, [as she held her beloved child in her arms],390 [suddenly her heart suspected a trick, and she began to tremble dreadfully].

End[ing her embrace, straightaway she questioned her:]

“Child, tell me, you did not [taste, when you were below,] any food? Speak out; [hide nothing so that we might both know]. For if you did not, you will come up [from dreadful Hades;]395 beside me and your father, the da[rk-clouded son of Cronus], you will live, held in honour by [all the immortals]. But if you did eat, you will go back down beneath [the Earth’s hiding places] and live there for a third portion of the seasons [every year], and two portions with me and the other [immortals].400 Whenever the Earth blossoms with fragrant spring flow[ers] of every kind, then from the misty darkness you will rise up again, a great wonder for gods and mortal women and men. And so, did the powerful god who receives many beguile you with a trick?”

Beautiful Persephone spoke to her mother in response:405

“I will tell you everything unerringly. When the swift Watch-dog Slayer came from my father, the son of Cronus, and the other heavenly gods, to depart from the Darkness — so that, seeing me with your own eyes, you might cease your anger and dreadful wrath against the immortals —410 I leapt up in joy, but Hades secretly made me eat the seed of a pomegranate.

He compelled me to swallow it by force, against my will.

How he seized me through the shrewd cunning of Cronus’s son, my father, and bore me away beneath the Earth’s hiding places,415 I will tell you and recount everything you ask.

All along a lovely meadow, all of us – Leucippe, Phaino, Electra and Ianthé, Melité, Iakhé, Rhodeia and Callirhoé, Melebosis, Tukhé, and Okuroé whose face is like a flower bud,420 Chryseis, Ianeira, Akasté and Admeté, Rhodopé, Plouto, and graceful Kalypso, Styx, Ourania, and lovely Galaxaura, Battle-ready Pallas Athena and arrow-pouring Artemis – were playing and gathering lovely flowers by hand,425 all mixed together – soft crocus, irises and hyacinth, rose-buds and lilies, wonderful to see, and a narcissus which the wide Earth made grow like a crocus.

I was plucking them out of joy, but from beneath the Earth gave way and the powerful lord who receives many leapt out.430 He carried me off beneath the Earth in his golden chariot, by force against my will. With high-pitched screams I cried out Though this causes you pain, everything I tell you is true.”

All day long, with one mind each comforted the other’s heart and spirit,435 together in each other’s arms, and their spirits ceased grieving. Each received joy from the other, and gave it in return. Hecate of the shining headdress came to them; she too held the daughter of holy Demeter in her embrace. From that time forward, queenly Hecate has been her attendant and companion.440 Next deep-thundering, wide-seeing Zeus sent a messenger, fair-haired Rhea, their dark-robed mother, to bring her back to the company of the gods. He promised to give whatever honours she might choose among the immortal gods. He agreed that her daughter remain for a third portion445 of the revolving year beneath the misty Darkness, and two portions with her mother and the other immortals. So he spoke, nor did divine Rhea disobey Zeus’s commands. Swiftly she leapt down the peaks of Mount Olympus and came to Rharion, a life-bearing, fertile land450 in time before, but at that time it produced no life; it lay at rest, without a single plant. The white barley remained concealed through the plans of fair-ankled Demeter. But soon afterwards it would be adorned with long ears of grain when spring came once again, and thick rows of wheat and barley455 would stand heavy on the plain, waiting to be tied together in bundles. There first Rhea came down from the empty air. So pleased were they to see one another, their hearts were filled with joy. Then Rhea of the shining headdress spoke to her daughter:

“Come, child, deep-thundering, wide-seeing Zeus summons you460 to return to the company of the gods. He promises to give [whatever honours you wish] among the immortal gods. [He has agreed that your daughter] remain for a third portion [of the revolving year beneath the misty] Darkness, [and two portions at your side and with the other] immortals.465 [He said that it would be accom]plished like this; he nodded his head in assent. [Come now, my] child, obey; do not rage excessively [and without end] against the dark-clouded son of Cronus. [Quickly now,] allow the life-bearing fruit to grow for men and women.”

Demeter establishes the Eleusinian Mysteries

She spoke, and fair-garlanded Demeter did not disobey.470 At once she sent up the grain of the tilled fields, and all the wide Earth was weighed down with leaves and flowers. Then she went to the kings who administer laws – to Triptolemus and the charioteer Diokles, to strong Eumolpus and Keleus, leader of his people. She showed them475 the administration of her holy mysteries and revealed her sacred rites to all — to Triptolemus and Polyxeinos, and in addition to them to Diokles — awe-inspiring rites that must never be violated [nor asked about] nor discussed. Great reverence for the gods impedes our speech. Blessed are they among women and men on Earth who have seen these rites.480 But those who are uninitiated in the holy mysteries and have no share in them, never have a portion of the same blessings when they are dead beneath the chilly Darkness. When the shining goddess had established all her rites, they both made their way to Olympus, to the company of the other gods. There they dwell alongside Zeus who delights in thunder –485 Revered and adored goddesses.

Greatly blessed are those whom the two goddesses

willingly love among women and men on Earth. Straightaway they send a hearth-guest to their great homes — Prosperity, who grants riches to mortal men and women.

Come now, goddesses who preside over fragrant Eleusis,490 sea-girt Paros and rocky Antros, queenly Deo, giver of splendid gifts, bringer of seasons, you and your beautiful daughter, Persephone, willingly in return for my song grant me a soul-pleasing livelihood. Next I will remember you and another song.495]]>

L7 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 1

nkuruppu — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 20:51:26 +0000

The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite Translated by S. Ahmed, E. Bodner, R. Nickel, A. Rappold

Invocation: the Universal Power of Aphrodite

Muse, tell me the deeds of gold-adorned

Aphrodite, Cyprus-born

She rouses sweet desire in the gods,

overpowers all men and women,

as well as birds who soar in the sky

and all creatures land and sea nurture.5

All beings take pleasure in the deeds of garland-crowned

Aphrodite of Kythera.

The Three Exceptions

There are three exceptions —

only three whose minds she can’t persuade or deceive.

One: the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, owl-eyed Athena. She finds no pleasure in the deeds of gold-adorned Aphrodite Instead, wars and the deeds of Ares bring her joy –10 combat and battle — and inspiring deeds that bring glory: She was the first to teach craftsmen on the Earth how to make carriages and chariots elaborately fitted with bronze. Soft-skinned girls still at home – these too she taught glorious works, implanting this knowledge in each woman’s mind.15 Two: Artemis, golden-arrowed, loud-crying. Laughter-loving Aphrodite was never able to overpower her with love’s delights. Instead, she takes pleasure in the bow and slaying wild animals on mountain tops. In her rites: lyres and dances with piercing loud cries, In her domains: shady groves, and the city of just men.20 Three: Hestia – in no way did the deeds of Aphrodite please her: modest, revered eternal maiden. Crooked-counselling Kronos fathered her first, but also last of all, through the plans of aegis-bearing Zeus. A queen:

Poseidon and Apollo both tried to marry her. But she was absolutely unwilling and refused, unable to be moved.25 She swore a great oath, which in fact has been accomplished, touching the head of father Zeus the aegis-bearer, swearing that she – shining among goddesses – would be a virgin for all eternity. To her, father Zeus granted this noble gift, in place of marriage: She sits in the middle of every household, holding the richest prize.30 In all the gods’ temples she too has her portion of honour. And by all mortals she is revered as the eldest of the gods.

Not even Zeus is exempt

These goddesses only are exempt from her persuasion and deception. No one else is able to escape Aphrodite --

Not among the gods, who live carefree, and Not among men, haunted by death.35

She even twisted the divine plan and intentions of Zeus, who delights in thunder, though he is the greatest god and, in the distribution of honours, he received the greatest portion.

Whenever she wanted, she misled his most carefully held intentions. She did so easily -- forcing him to have sex with lowly mortal women. Any thought of Hera, she erased from his mind –

despite the respect owed to a sister and a wife.40

Even though Hera was the most attractive of all the immortal gods And from a noble family: descended from crooked-counseling Kronos and Rhea, the mother. Zeus, the steadfast counselor, made Hera his respected wife and within his household, his trusted confidant.

Zeus’s plan

In Aphrodite’s own heart, Zeus cast sweet longing45 to have sex with a mortal man, so that, as soon as possible, even she could no longer refrain from a mortal’s bed. In case she ever again started boasting to the assembled gods with a cruel-sweet laugh — Laughter-loving Aphrodite claiming that she could make any god she wanted have sex with mortal women50 and give sons, subject to death, to deathless parents, and that she could make goddesses have sex with mortal men. Anchises was at that time grazing his cattle high up on Mount Ida with its many springs. Into Aphrodite’s heart Zeus now cast desire for him, a man in appearance like the gods.55 When laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him She fell in love

and violent desire seized her mind.

Arriving in Cyprus, she descended to her fragrant temple in Paphos, where her sacred precinct and fragrant altar lie. There she entered and closed its gleaming doors.60 Inside, the Graces bathed her and anointed her with oil, divine oil which gleams on the gods who are forever, an ambrosial substance, made pleasantly fragrant for her. She placed around her naked body beautiful clothing, and adorned in gold, laughter-loving Aphrodite65 went quickly towards Troy, leaving behind sweet-smelling Cyprus.

Aphrodite arrives on Mount Ida

High among the clouds, her journey was swift. She came to Mount Ida of many springs, mother of beasts. She went straight through the mountain to the shepherd’s hut. Following behind and fawning around her, grey wolves, savage-eyed lions,70 bears, and swift leopards ever hungry for deer lept about. When she saw this the spirit within her breast rejoiced and she cast sweet desire in their hearts, and all of them at once lay down together in pairs in their shadowy dens. She now arrived at the shepherd's well-built hut.75 She found him alone at the cattle pens where he had been left by the others, Anchises, a hero who had beauty from the gods. At that time all the others were following their cattle through grassy meadows. But he, left alone at the cattle pens by the others was wandering here and there, playing a clear-sounding song on his lyre.80 Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus stood before him in stature and form, looking like an unmarried virgin, so as not to frighten him when he saw her with his eyes. Seeing her, Anchises observed and marveled at her beauty and stature and gleaming clothes.85 She wore a dress more radiant than the bright light of fire, curved bracelets and shining earrings; around her soft throat were exquisite necklaces, elegant, golden, intricate. And as the moon shines, a glow radiated around her soft breasts, wondrous to behold.90 Desire seized Anchises and, coming close, he spoke:

“Welcome, lady! Whoever you are of the blessed gods who has come to this house, either Artemis or Leto or golden Aphrodite, noble Themis or grey -eyed Athena, or maybe one of the Graces who has come here —95 who dine with the gods and are called immortal, or one of the nymphs

who inhabit beautiful groves or one of those who dwell on this lovely mountain and in the streams of its rivers and grassy meadows.

On a mountain peak, visible all around.100 I will make an altar for you and perform noble sacrifices in every season. With a gracious spirit, grant that I be preeminent among the Trojans, and make my offspring flourish in the time to come; grant that I too live long and well, looking upon the light of the Sun,105 that I prosper among my people and reach the threshold of old age.”

Then Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, answered him:

“Anchises, most honoured of humans born on the Earth, I am in no way a god. Why do you compare me to the immortals? I am mortal, and a mortal mother bore me.110 Otreus is my father, a glorious name, if perhaps you’ve heard it. He rules over all the Phrygians who have well-built walls.

I know both your language and my own well. For a Trojan nurse brought me up in my house; she took me from my mother when I was a small child and for many years cared for me.115 Surprising as it seems — that is why I know your language so well.

I was abducted by the Watchdog-Slayer, Hermes with the golden wand, from the dances to Artemis, golden-arrowed, loud-crying.

There were many women in our chorus — some virgins, some near to womanhood, and some already marriageable, worth a high bride-price. We were dancing. All around, a vast audience encircled us.120

Right then, he abducted me: the golden-wanded Watchdog-Slayer. Over many farmsteads he took me — the works of men, mortal such as yourself — and over many fields not yet divided and plowed, where wild beasts, eaters of flesh, prowl, slinking out from their shadowy dens. Not once did my feet seem to touch the ground: life-bearing and fertile.125

Anchises’ own, he kept saying: in his bed I would be called, His lawful wife. And that I would bear you glorious children. But after he showed me the way out and explained all this, He flew back to the immortals, the powerful Watchdog-Slayer. Now I have come to you, compelled by powerful Necessity.130

I beg you, calling on Zeus — as I kneel before you and touch your thigh — and your parents, who must be exceptional. For ugly people could not produce one so perfect. Since I am a virgin and inexperienced in the ways of sex, take me and present me to your father and devoted mother, to your brothers — all those born from the same fruitful union.135 For them, I will not be disreputable, an easy woman but a respectable daughter-in-law.

But send a messenger right away to the swift-horsed Phrygians to inform my father and mother, who will be most anxious. Gold in abundance and exquisitely woven garments, they will send. I beg you, accept this great and noble bride price.140 Afterwards hold a feast for the wedding I desire so much, one which will give you honour both among men

and the immortal gods.”

Speaking in this way, the goddess cast sweet desire into his heart. Lust seized Anchises and he spoke, calling out to her:

“If you are mortal, and a mortal woman bore you,145 and Otreus – a famous name – is your father, as you proclaim, and you have come here with the help of the immortal Guide, Hermes, and you will be called my wife for all our days, then no one, neither a god nor a mortal man, will hold me back here and now before I mingle in love with you150 this very moment, not even if the far-shooter himself, Apollo, sends forth painful arrows from his silver bow. Then I would be willing, lady like the goddesses, once I have lain in your bed, to enter the house of Hades.”

Speaking so, he took her hand, and laughter-loving Aphrodite155 turned and went, casting her beautiful eyes downwards, into the well-strewn bed, which earlier had been covered by its master with soft blankets. On top of these lay the hides of bears and loud-roaring lions, which he himself had slain high in the mountains.160 Once they’d mounted the well-crafted bed, Anchises first took the splendid jewelry from her skin, brooches and spiral bracelets, earrings and necklaces. He loosened her belt and removed her shining clothes, placing them on a silver-studded chair.165 Then, by the will of the gods and by destiny, a mortal man lay beside an immortal goddess, not knowing clearly what he did. When shepherds guide their cattle and fat sheep from flowery meadows back to the fold, then the shining goddess poured a sweet, profound sleep over Anchises,170 and put back on her beautiful clothing. Once all her clothes and jewelry were perfectly arranged, she stood in the hut. Her head reached the well-made roof beam, and from her cheeks immortal beauty shone forth, beauty such as belongs to the violet -garlanded goddess of Kythera.175 She roused him from sleep and spoke, calling his name,

“Awaken, son of Dardanus! Why do you sleep so deeply? Consider whether I appear the same to you as when you first perceived me with your eyes.”

So she spoke, and startled out of sleep, he obeyed.180 When he saw the beautiful throat and eyes of Aphrodite, he was frightened and turned his eyes aside, looking elsewhere. Once more he covered his handsome face with his cloak and, supplicating her, spoke with winged words:

“Immediately, Goddess, when I first saw you with my eyes,185 I knew you were a god. But you did not speak the truth. I implore you, in the name of aegis-bearing Zeus, do not allow me to live impotent among men and women. Take pity! No man’s life flourishes once he sleeps with immortal goddesses.”190

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L6 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Io (Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound)

nkuruppu — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 15:12:56 +0000

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

In the following text, the numbers without brackets refer to the English text, and those in square brackets refer to the Greek text. Indented partial lines in the English text are included with the line above in the reckoning. Stage directions and endnotes have been provided by the translator.

BACKGROUND NOTE

Aeschylus (c.525 BC to c.456 BC) was one of the three great Greek tragic dramatists whose works have survived. Of his many plays, seven still remain. Aeschylus may have fought against the Persians at Marathon (490 BC), and he did so again at Salamis (480 BC). According to tradition, he died from being hit with a tortoise dropped by an eagle. After his death, the Athenians, as a mark of respect, permitted his works to be restaged in their annual competitions. Prometheus Bound was apparently the first play in a trilogy (the other two plays, now lost except for some fragments, were Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus the Fire-Bringer). Although a number of modern scholars have questioned whether Aeschylus was truly the author of the play, it has always been included among his works. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a Titan, a descendant of the original gods, Gaia and Ouranos (Earth and Heaven). The Titans were defeated in a battle with Zeus, who fought against his own father, Cronos, imprisoned him deep in the earth, and became the new ruling power in heaven. Although he was a Titan, Prometheus assisted Zeus in this conflict, but later offended him by stealing fire from heaven and giving it to human beings, for whom he had a special affection. Aeschylus’s play begins after Zeus has assumed control of heaven and learned about the theft.

PROMETHEUS BOUND

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

POWER: divine agent of Zeus. FORCE: divine agent of Zeus. HEPHAESTUS: divine son of Zeus, the artisan god. PROMETHEUS: a Titan. CHORUS: daughters of Oceanus. OCEANUS: a god of the sea. IO: daughter of Inachus. HERMES: divine son of Zeus. [In a remote mountainous region of Scythia. HEPHAESTUS enters with POWER and FORCE dragging PROMETHEUS with them in chains.] POWER We have just reached the land of Scythia, at the most distant limits of the world, remote and inaccessible. Hephaestus, now it is your duty to carry out those orders you received from Father Zeus— to nail this troublemaker firmly down against these high, steep cliffs, shackling him in adamantine chains that will not break. For he in secret stole your pride and joy and handed it to men—the sacred fire10 which fosters all the arts. For such a crime, he must pay retribution to the gods, so he will learn to bear the rule of Zeus[10] and end that love he has for humankind. HEPHAESTUS Power and Force, where you two are concerned, what Zeus commanded us has now been done. There are no further obstacles to face. I am not bold enough to use sheer force against a kindred god and nail him down here on this freezing rock. But nonetheless,20 I must steel myself to finish off our work, for it is dangerous to disregard the words of Father Zeus. [HEPHAESTUS addresses PROMETHEUS.] High-minded son of our wise counsellor, goddess Themis, against my will and yours, I must bind you[20] with chains of brass which no one can remove on this cliff face, far from all mortal men, where you will never hear a human voice or glimpse a human shape and sun’s hot rays will scorch and age your youthful flesh. For you,30 the sparkling stars high in the sky at night will hide those rays and offer some relief. Then, in the morning, once again the sun will melt the frost. This never-ending burden of your present agony will wear you down, for the one who is to rescue you someday is not yet even born. This is your reward for acting as a friend to human beings. Though you are a god, you were not deterred by any fear of angering the gods.40 You gave men honours they did not deserve,[30] possessions they were not entitled to. Because of that, you will remain on guard, here on this joyless rock, standing upright with your legs straight, and you will never sleep. You will often scream in pain and sorrow, for Zeus’s heart is pitilessly harsh, and everyone whose ruling power is new is cruel and ruthless. POWER Come on. Why wait and mope around like this so uselessly?50 Why do you not despise this deity who is so hateful to the other gods? He gave your special gift to mortal men. HEPHAESTUS We are comrades—we share strong common bonds. POWER That may be true, but can you disobey[40] your father’s words? Do you not fear him more? HEPHAESTUS Ah yes! You always lack a sense of pity and are so full of cruel self-confidence. POWER There is no point in wailing a lament for this one here. You should stop wasting time60 on things that bring no benefits to you. HEPHAESTUS How much I hate the special work I do! POWER Why hate it? It’s clear enough your artistry had nothing at all to do with causing what we are facing here. HEPHAESTUS That may be true, but still I wish my lot as artisan had gone to someone else. POWER Well, every task is burdensome, except to rule the gods. No one is truly free except for Zeus.[50] HEPHAESTUS I know. This work is proof enough of that.70 I cannot deny it. POWER Then hurry up and get these chains around him, just in case Zeus sees you stalling. HEPHAESTUS All right. These shackles here are ready. Take a look. [Hephaestus starts chaining Prometheus’s arm to the cliff.] POWER Bind his hands. Use some heavy hammer blows and rivet him against the rock. HEPHAESTUS There! This part is finished. It looks all right. POWER Strike harder. Make sure he is securely fixed, with nothing slack. He is an expert at devising ways to wriggle out of hopeless situations.80 HEPHAESTUS Well, this arm, at least, is firmly nailed here.[60] No one will get this out. POWER Now drive a spike in here as well—make sure it won’t come loose. No matter how intelligent he is, he has to learn he is nothing but a fool compared to Zeus. HEPHAESTUS No one could justly fault this work I do, except for him. POWER Now smash the blunt tip of this adamantine wedge straight through his chest—use all your force. HEPHAESTUS Alas! O Prometheus, this suffering of yours—90 how it makes me weep! POWER Why are you so slow and sighing over Zeus’s enemy? Be careful, or soon you may be groaning for yourself. HEPHAESTUS This sight is difficult to watch, as you can see. POWER I see this criminal[70] is getting just what he deserves. Come on, wrap these chains around his ribs. HEPHAESTUS Look, I know I have to carry out this work, so stop ordering me about so much. POWER Hold on— I’ll give you orders as often as I please100 and keep on badgering you. Move down, and use your strength to fix his legs in place. HEPHAESTUS Our work is done. That did not take too long. POWER Hit the fetters really hard—those ones there, around his feet. The one who’s watching us, inspecting what we do, can turn vicious. HEPHAESTUS The words you speak well match the way you look. POWER Well, your soft heart can sympathize with him, but do not criticize my stubborn will[80] and my harsh temper. HEPHAESTUS We should be going.110 His limbs are all securely fixed in place. [Exit Hephaestus.] POWER [to Prometheus] Now you can flaunt your arrogance up here, by stealing honours given to the gods and offering them to creatures of a day. Are mortal beings strong enough to ease the burden of your pain? The gods were wrong to give that name ‘Prometheus’ to you, ‘someone who thinks ahead,’ for now you need a real Prometheus to help you out and find a way to free you from these chains.120 [Exit Power and Force.] PROMETHEUS O you heavenly skies and swift-winged winds, you river springs, you countless smiling waves on ocean seas, and Earth, you mother of all,[90] and you as well, the all-seeing circle of the celestial sun—I summon you to see what I, a god, am suffering at the hands of gods. Look here and witness how I am being worn down with torments which I will undergo for countless years. This is the kind of shameful punishment130 the new ruler of the gods imposed on me. Alas! Alas! I groan under the pain of present torments and those yet to come. Who will deliver me from such harsh pain?[100] From what part of the sky will he appear? And yet, why talk like this? For I possess a detailed knowledge of what lies in store before it happens—none of my tortures will come as a surprise. I must endure, as best I can, the fate I have been given,140 for I know well that no one can prevail against the strength of harsh Necessity. And yet it is not possible for me to speak or not to speak about my fate. I have been compelled to bear the yoke of punishment because I gave a gift to mortal beings—I searched out and stole the source of fire concealed in fennel stalks, and that taught men the use of all the arts[110] and gave them ways to make amazing things.150 Now chained and nailed beneath the open sky, I am paying the price for what I did. But wait! What noise and what invisible scent is drifting over me? Is it divine or human or both of these? Has someone travelled to the very edges of the world to watch my suffering. What do they want? [Prometheus shouts out to whoever is watching him.] Here I am, an ill-fated god! You see an enemy of Zeus shackled in chains,[120] hated by all those gods who spend their time160 in Zeus’s court! They think my love for men is too excessive! What is that sound I hear? The whirling noise of birds nearby—the air is rustling with their lightly beating wings! Whatever comes too close alarms me. [Enter the Chorus of nymphs, daughters of Oceanus, in a winged chariot, which hovers beside Prometheus.] CHORUS You need not fear us. We are your friends. The rapid beating of these eager wings has borne our company to this sheer cliff.[130] We worked to get our father to agree, and he did so, although that was not easy.170 The swiftly moving breezes bore us on, for the echoing clang of hammer blows pierced right into the corners of our cave and beat away my bashful modesty. And so, without tying any sandals on, I rushed here in this chariot with wings. PROMETHEUS Aaaiii! Alas! O you daughters born from fertile Tethys, children of your father Oceanus, whose current circles the entire world and never rests, 180 [140] look at me! See how I am chained here, nailed on this cliff above a deep ravine, where I maintain my dreary watch. CHORUS I see that, Prometheus, and a cloud of tears and terror moves across my eyes to observe your body being worn away in these outrageous adamantine chains. New gods now rule on Mount Olympus, and, like a tyrant, Zeus is governing[150] with new-fangled laws, overpowering190 those gods who were so strong before. PROMETHEUS If only he had thrown me underground, down there in Hades, which receives the dead, in Tartarus, through which no one can pass, and cruelly bound me there in fetters no one could break, so that none of the gods or anyone else could gloat at my distress. But now the blowing winds toy with me here, and the pain I feel delights my enemies. CHORUS What god is so hard-hearted he would find200 [160] this scene enjoyable? Who would not feel compassion for these sufferings of yours, apart from Zeus, who, in his angry mood, has set his rigid mind inflexibly on conquering the race of Ouranos. And he will never stop until his heart is fully satisfied or someone else overthrows his power by trickery, hard as that may be, and rules instead. PROMETHEUS Yes, and even though I am being tortured,210 bound in these strong chains, the day is coming when that ruler of those sacred beings[170] will truly need me to reveal to him a new intrigue by which he will be stripped of all his honours and his sceptre, too. He will not charm that secret out of me with sweet honeyed phrases of persuasion, nor, for all his savage threats, will I ever cringe down in front of him and let him know the answer—no!—not until he frees me220 from these cruel shackles and is willing to pay me compensation for his crime! CHORUS With that audacious confidence of yours,[180] you do not cower before these bitter pains, but you allow your tongue to speak too freely. A piercing fear knifes through my heart, my dread about your fate, how you must steer your ship to find safe haven and see an end to all your troubles. For the son of Cronos has a heart230 that is inflexible—his character will not be moved by prayer. PROMETHEUS Yes, I know. Zeus is a harsh god and holds the reins[190] of justice in his hands. But nonetheless, I can see the day approaching when his mind will soften, once that secret I described has led to his collapse. Then he will abate his stubborn rage and enter eagerly into a bond of friendship with me. By then I will be eager for that, too.240 CHORUS Tell us the whole story of what happened. How did Zeus have you seized and on what charge? Why does he so shamefully abuse you in this painful way? Give us the details, unless you would be harmed by telling us. PROMETHEUS I find these matters truly unbearable to talk about, but remaining silent pains me, too. The events that led to this[200] are all so miserably unfortunate. When the powers in heaven got angry,250 they started quarrelling amongst themselves. Some wanted to hurl Cronos from his throne, so Zeus could rule instead, but then others wanted the reverse—to ensure that Zeus would never rule the gods. I tried my best to give them good advice, but I could not convince the Titans, offspring of the Earth and Heaven, who, despising trickery, insisted stubbornly they would prevail[210] without much effort, by using force.260 Both mother Themis and the goddess Earth (who has a single form but many names) had often uttered prophecies to me about how Fate would make events unfold, how those who would seize power and control would need, not brutal might and violence, but sly deception. I went through all this, but they were not concerned—they thought everything I said a waste of time. So then, when I considered what to do,270 the wisest course of action seemed to be to join my mother and take Zeus’s side.[220] I did so eagerly, and he was keen to have me with him. Thanks to my advice, the gloomy pit of Tartarus now hides old Cronos and his allies. I helped Zeus, that tyrant of the gods—now he repays me with this foul torment. It is a sickness which somehow comes with every tyranny to place no trust in friends. But you asked280 why Zeus is torturing me like this. I will explain. As soon as he was seated[230] on his father’s throne, he quickly set about assigning gods their various honours and organizing how he meant to rule. But for those sad wretched human beings, he showed no concern at all. He wanted to wipe out the entire race and grow a new one in its place. None of the gods objected to his plan except for me.290 I was the only one who had the courage. So I saved those creatures from destruction and a trip to Hades. And that is why I have been shackled here and have to bear such agonizing pain, so pitiful to see.[240] I set compassion for the human race above the way I felt about myself, so now I am unworthy of compassion. This is how he seeks to discipline me, without a shred of mercy—the spectacle300 disgraces Zeus’s name. CHORUS But anyone who shows no pity for your agonies, Prometheus, has a heart of iron and is made out of rock. As for myself, I had no wish to see them, and now I have, my heart is full of grief. PROMETHEUS Yes, to my friends I make a most distressing sight. CHORUS Was there more? Or were you guilty of just one offence? PROMETHEUS I stopped men thinking of their future deaths.[250] CHORUS What cure for this disease did you discover?310 PROMETHEUS Inside their hearts I put blind hope. CHORUS With that you gave great benefits to humankind. PROMETHEUS And in addition to hope, I gave them fire. CHORUS You did that for those creatures of a day? Do they have fire now? PROMETHEUS They do. And with it they will soon master many arts. CHORUS So Zeus charged you with this . . . PROMETHEUS [interrupting] . . . and he torments me and gives me no relief from suffering! CHORUS And has no time been set when your ordeal comes to an end? PROMETHEUS No. None at all,320 except when it seems suitable to Zeus.[260] CHORUS How will he ever think it suitable? What hope is there in that? Do you not see where you went wrong? But I do not enjoy discussing those mistakes you made, and you must find it painful. Let us leave that point, so in this anguish you find some release. PROMETHEUS It is easy for someone whose foot remains unsnared by suffering to give advice and criticize another in distress.330 I was well aware of all these matters, and those mistakes I made quite willingly— I freely chose to do the things I did. I will not deny that. By offering help to mortal beings I brought on myself this suffering. But still, I did not think[270] I would receive this kind of punishment, wasting away on these high rocky cliffs, fixed on this remote and desolate crag. But do not mourn the troubles I now face.340 Step down from your chariot and listen to those misfortunes I must still confront, so you will learn the details of my story from start to finish. Accept my offer. Agree to hear me out, and share with me the pain I feel right now. For misery, shifting around from place to place, settles on different people at different times. CHORUS [leaving the chariot] Your request does not fall on deaf ears, Prometheus. My lightly stepping foot350 [280] has moved down from the swift-winged chariot and sacred air, the pathway of the birds, to walk along this rugged rock towards you. I want to hear your tale, a full account of all your suffering. [Enter OCEANUS on a flying monster.] OCEANUS I have now reached the end of my long journey, travelling to visit you, Prometheus, on the wings of this swift beast, and using my own mind instead of any reins to guide it here. You know I feel great sympathy for you360 [290] and for your suffering. It seems to me our ties of kinship make me feel that way. But even if there were no family bonds, no one wins more respect from me than you. You will soon realize I speak the truth and do not simply prattle empty words. So come, show me how I can be of help, for you will never say you have a friend more loyal to you than Oceanus. PROMETHEUS What is this? What am I looking at?370 [300] Have you, too, travelled here to gaze upon my agonies? How were you brave enough to leave that flowing stream which shares your name and those rock arches of the cave you made, to journey to this land, the womb of iron? Or have you come to see how I am doing, to sympathize with me in my distress? Behold this spectacle—a friend of Zeus, who helped him win his way to sovereignty! See how his torments weigh me down! OCEANUS I see that,380 Prometheus, and although you do possess[310] a subtle mind, I would like to offer you some good advice. You have to understand your character and adopt new habits. For even gods have a new ruler now. If you keep hurling out offensive words, with such insulting and abusive language, Zeus may well hear you, even though his throne is far away, high in the heavenly sky, and then this present heap of anguished pain390 will seem mere childish play. Instead of that, you poor suffering creature, set aside this angry mood of yours and seek relief from all this misery. These words of mine may seem to you perhaps too old and trite, but this is what you get, Prometheus,[320] for having such a proud and boastful tongue. You show no modesty in what you say and will not bow down before misfortune, for you prefer to add more punishments400 to those you have already. You should hear me as your teacher and stop this kicking out against the whip. You know our present king, who rules all by himself and has no one he must answer to, is harsh. I will go and, if I can, attempt to ease your pain. You must stay quiet—do not keep shouting such intemperate things. Do you not know,[330] with all that shrewd intelligence of yours, your thoughtless tongue can get you punished?410 PROMETHEUS I am happy things turned out so well for you. You had the courage to support my cause, but you escaped all blame. Now let me be, and do not make my suffering your concern. Whatever you may say will be in vain— persuading Zeus is not an easy task. You should take care this journey you have made does not get you in trouble. OCEANUS Your nature makes you far better at giving good advice to neighbours rather than yourself. I judge420 by looking at the facts, not by listening to what others say. You should not deter[340] a person who is eager to help out. For I am sure—yes, I am confident— there is one gift which Zeus will offer me, and he will free you from this suffering. PROMETHEUS You have my thanks—and I will not forget. There is in you no lack of willingness to offer aid. But spare yourself the trouble, which will be useless and no help to me,430 if, in fact, you want to make the effort. Just keep quiet, and do not interfere. I may be miserable, but my distress does not make me desire to see such pain imposed on everyone—no, not at all. What my brother Atlas has to suffer[350] hurts my heart. In some region to the west he has to stand, bearing on his shoulders the pillar of earth and heaven, a load even his arms find difficult to carry.440 And I feel pity when I contemplate the creature living in Cilician caves, that fearful monster with a hundred heads, born from the earth, impetuous Typhon, curbed by Zeus’s force. He held out against the might of all the gods. His hideous jaws produced a terrifying hiss, and his eyes flashed a ferocious stare, as if his strength could utterly destroy the rule of Zeus. But Zeus’s thunderbolt, which never sleeps,450 [360] that swooping, fire-breathing lightning stroke, came down and drove the arrogant boasting right out of him. Struck to his very heart, he was reduced to ash, and all his might was blasted away by rolls of thunder. Now his helpless and immobile body lies close beside a narrow ocean strait, pinned down beneath the roots of Aetna, while on that mountain, at the very top, Hephaestus sits and forges red-hot iron.460 But one day that mountain peak will blow out rivers of fire, whose savage jaws devour[370] the level fruitful fields of Sicily. Though Typhon may have been burned down to ash by Zeus’s lightning bolt, his seething rage will then erupt and shoot out molten arrows, belching horrifying streams of liquid fire. But you are not without experience and have no need of me to teach you this. So save yourself the way you think is best,470 and I will bear whatever I must face, until the rage in Zeus’s heart subsides. OCEANUS Surely you realize, Prometheus, that in the case of a disordered mood[380] words act as healers. PROMETHEUS Yes, but only if one uses them at the appropriate time to soften up the heart and does not try to calm its swollen rage too forcefully. OCEANUS What dangers do you see if someone blends his courage and his eagerness to act?480 Tell me that. PROMETHEUS Simple stupidity and wasted effort. OCEANUS Well, let me fall ill from this disease, for someone truly wise profits most when he is thought a fool. PROMETHEUS But they will think that I made the mistake. OCEANUS Those words of yours are clearly telling me to go back home. PROMETHEUS Yes, in case concern for me[390] gets you in serious trouble. OCEANUS You mean with Zeus, now seated on his new all-powerful throne? PROMETHEUS Take care, in case one day that heart of his490 vents its rage on you. OCEANUS What you are suffering, Prometheus, will teach me that. PROMETHEUS Then go. Be on your way. Keep to your present plans. OCEANUS These words of yours are telling me to leave, and I am eager to depart. The wings on this four-footed beast will brush the air and make our pathway smooth. He will rejoice to rest his limbs back in his stall at home. [Exit OCEANUS.] CHORUS I groan for your accursed fate, Prometheus, and floods of tears500 [400] are streaming from my weeping eyes and moisture wets my tender cheeks. For Zeus, who rules by his own laws, has set your wretched destiny and shows towards the gods of earlier days an overweening sense of power. Now every region cries in one lament. They mourn the lost magnificence, so honoured long ago, the glorious fame you and your brothers once possessed.510 [410] And all those mortal beings who live in sacred Asia sense your pain, those agonies all men find pitiful . . . . . . including those young girls who dwell in Colchis and have no fear of war, and Scythian hordes who occupy the furthest regions of the world along the shores of lake Maeotis . . . . . . and in Arabian lands the warlike tribes[420] from those high rocky fortress towns520 in regions near the Caucasus, a horde of warriors who scream to heft their lethal sharpened spears. Only once before have I beheld another Titan god in such distress bound up in adamantine chains— great Atlas, whose enormous strength was unsurpassed and who now groans to bear the vault of heaven on his back.[430] The sea waves, as they fall, cry out,530 the ocean depths lament, while down below the deep black pits of Hades growl, and limpid flowing rivers moan, to see the dreadful pain you undergo. PROMETHEUS You must not think it is my stubbornness that keeps me quiet, or a sense of pride, for bitter thoughts keep gnawing at my heart to see how foully I am being abused. And yet who else but I assigned clear rights[440] and privileges to these new deities?540 But I make no complaint about such things, for if I spoke, I would be telling you what you already know. So listen now to all the miseries of mortal men— how they were simple fools in earlier days, until I gave them sense and intellect. I will not speak of them to criticize, but in a spirit of goodwill to show I did them many favours. First of all, they noticed things, but did not really see550 and listened, too, but did not really hear. They spent their lives confusing everything,[450] like random shapes in dreams. They knew nothing of brick-built houses turned towards the sun or making things with wood. Instead, they dug their dwelling places underneath the earth, like airy ants in cracks of sunless caves. They had no signs on which they could rely to show when winter came or flowery spring or fruitful summer. Everything they did560 betrayed their total lack of understanding, until I taught them all about the stars and pointed out the way they rise and set, which is not something easy to discern. Then I invented arithmetic for them, the most ingenious acquired skill,[460] and joining letters to write down words, so they could store all things in Memory, the working mother of the Muses’ arts. I was the first to set wild animals570 beneath the yoke, and I made them submit to collars and to packs, so mortal men would find relief from bearing heavy loads. I took horses trained to obey the reins and harnessed them to chariots, a sign of luxurious wealth and opulence. And I was the one who designed their ships, those mariners’ vessels which sail on wings across the open sea. Yes, those are the things which I produced for mortal men, and yet,580 [470] as I now suffer here, I cannot find a way to free myself from this distress. CHORUS You have had to bear appalling pain. You lost your wits and now are at a loss. Like some bad doctor who has fallen ill, you are now desperate and cannot find the medicine to cure your own disease. PROMETHEUS Just listen to what else I have to say, and you will be astonished even more by the ideas and skills I came up with.590 The greatest one was this: if anyone was sick, they had no remedies at all, no healing potions, food, or liniments.[480] Without such things, they simply withered up. But then I showed them how to mix mild cures, which they now use to fight off all disease. I set up many forms of prophecy and was the first to organize their dreams, to say which ones were fated to come true. I taught them about omens—vocal sounds600 hard to understand, as well as random signs encountered on the road. The flights of birds with crooked talons I classified for them— both those which by their nature are auspicious and those whose prophecies are ominous—[490] observing each bird’s different way of life, its enemies, its friends, and its companions, as well as the smooth texture of its entrails, what colour the gall bladder ought to have to please the gods, and the best symmetry610 for speckled lobes on livers. I roasted thigh bones wrapped in fat and massive cuts of meat and showed those mortal beings the right way to read the omens which are hard to trace. I opened up their eyes to fiery symbols which previously they could not understand. Yes, I did all that. And then I helped them[500] with what lay hidden in the earth—copper, iron, silver, gold. Who could ever claim he had discovered these before I did?620 No one. I am quite confident of that, unless he wished to waste his time in chat. To sum up everything in one brief word, know this—all the artistic skills men have come from Prometheus. CHORUS But you should not be giving help like that to human beings beyond the proper limits, ignoring your own troubles, for I have every hope[510] you will be liberated from these chains and be as powerful as Zeus himself.630 PROMETHEUS It is not destined that almighty Fate will ever end these matters in that way. I will lose these chains, but only after I have been left twisting here in agony, bowed down by countless pains. Artistic skill has far less strength than sheer Necessity. CHORUS Then who is the one who steers Necessity? PROMETHEUS The three-formed Fates and unforgetting Furies. CHORUS Are they more powerful than Zeus? PROMETHEUS Well, Zeus will not at any rate escape his destiny.640 CHORUS But what has destiny foretold for Zeus, except to rule eternally? PROMETHEUS That point you must not know quite yet. Do not pursue it.[520] CHORUS It is some holy secret you conceal. PROMETHEUS Think of something else. It is not yet time to talk of this. The matter must remain completely hidden, for if I can keep the secret safe, then I shall be released from torment and lose these shameful fetters. CHORUS May Zeus, who governs everything,650 never direct his power at me and fight against my purposes. And may I never ease my efforts[530] to approach the gods with offerings of oxen slain in sacrifice beside my father’s restless stream, the ceaseless flow of Oceanus. May I not speak a profane word. Instead let this resolve remain and never melt away from me.660 It is sweet to spend a lengthy life with hope about what lies in store, feeding one’s heart with happy thoughts. But when I look at you, Prometheus, tormented by these countless pains, I shiver in fear—with your self-will[540] you show no reverence for Zeus and honour mortal beings too much. Come, my friend, those gifts you gave— what gifts did you get in return?670 Tell me how they could offer help? What can such creatures of a day provide? Do you not see how weak they are, the impotent and dream-like state, in which the sightless human race is bound, with chains around their feet?[550] Whatever mortal beings decide to do, they cannot overstep what Zeus has planned. I learned these things, Prometheus, by watching your destructive fate.680 The song which now steals over me is different from that nuptial chant I sang around your couch and bath to celebrate your wedding day, when with your dowry gifts you won Hesione, my sister, as your wife,[560] and led her to your bridal bed. [Enter IO] IO What land is this? What race of living beings? Who shall I say I see here bound in chains, exposed and suffering on these cold rocks?690 What crime has led to such a punishment and your destruction? Tell me where I am. Where has my wretched wandering brought me? To what part of the world? [Io is suddenly in great pain.] Aaaaiiii! The pain!!! That gadfly stings me once again, the ghost of earth-born Argus! Get him away from me, O Earth, that herdsman with a thousand eyes— the very sight of him fills me with terror! Those crafty eyes of his keep following me. Though dead, he is not hidden underground,700 [570] but moves out from the shades beneath the earth and hunts me down and, in my wretched state, drives me to wander without nourishment along the sandy shore beside the sea. A pipe made out of reeds and wax sings out a clear relaxing strain. Alas for me! Where is this path of roaming far and wide now leading me? What did I ever do, O son of Cronos, how did I go wrong, that you should yoke me to such agonies . . .710 [580] [Io reacts to another attack.] Aaaaiii!! . . . and by oppressing me like this, setting a fearful stinging fly to chase a helpless girl, drive me to this madness? Burn me with fire, or bury me in earth, or feed me to the monsters of the sea. Do not refuse these prayers of mine, my lord! I have had my fill of all this wandering, this roaming far and wide—and all this pain! I do not know how to escape the pain! Do you not hear the ox-horned maiden call?720 PROMETHEUS How could I not hear that young girl’s voice, the child of Inachus, in a frantic state from the gadfly’s sting? She fires Zeus’s heart[590] with sexual lust, and now, worn down by Hera’s hate, is forced to roam around on paths that never end. IO Why do you shout my father’s name? Tell this unhappy girl just who you are, you wretched sufferer, and how, in my distress, you call to me, knowing who I am and naming my disease,730 the heaven-sent sickness which consumes me as it whips my skin with maddening stings . . . [Io is attacked again by the gadfly. She moves spasmodically as she wrestles with the pain.] . . . Aaaiii! . . . I have come rushing here, wracked with driving pangs of hunger, overwhelmed[600] by Hera’s plans for her revenge. Of those who are in misery . . . Aaaiiii! . . . which ones go through the sufferings I face? Give me some clear sign how much more agony I have to bear! Is there no remedy? Tell me the medicines for this disease,740 if you know any. Say something to me! Speak to a wretched wandering young girl! PROMETHEUS I will clarify for you all those things you wish to know—not by weaving riddles,[610] but by using simple speech. For with friends our mouths should tell the truth quite openly. You are looking at the one who offered men the gift of fire. I am Prometheus. IO O you who have shown to mortal beings so many benefits they all can share,750 poor suffering Prometheus! What act has led you to be punished in this way? PROMETHEUS I have just finished mourning my own pain. IO Will you not grant this favour to me, then? PROMETHEUS Ask what you wish to know. For you will learn the details of it all from me. IO Tell me who chained you here against this rocky cleft. PROMETHEUS The will of Zeus and Hephaestus’s hands. IO For what offence are you being punished?[620] PROMETHEUS I have said enough. I will not tell you760 any more than that. IO But I need more. At least inform me when my wandering ends. How long will I be in this wretched state? PROMETHEUS For you it would be better not to know than to have me answer. IO I’m begging you— do not conceal from me what I must bear. PROMETHEUS It is not that I begrudge that gift to you. IO Then why do you appear so hesitant to tell me everything? PROMETHEUS I am not unwilling, but I do not wish to break your spirit.770 IO Do not be more concerned for how I feel than I wish you to be. PROMETHEUS Since you insist,[630] I am obliged to speak. So listen to me. CHORUS No, not yet. Give us a share in this, as well, so we may be content with what you say. We should first learn how she became diseased. So let the girl herself explain to us the things that led to her destructive fate. Then you can teach her what still lies in store. PROMETHEUS Well then, Io, it is now up to you780 to grace them with this favour—above all, because they are your father’s sisters. And whenever one is likely to draw tears from those who listen, it is well worthwhile to weep aloud, lamenting one’s own fate. IO I do not know how I could now refuse you.[640] From the plain tale I tell you will find out all things you wish to know, although to talk about the brutal storm sent by the gods, the cruel transformation of my shape,790 and where the trouble came from, as it swept down on a miserable wretch like me— that makes me feel ashamed. During the night visions were always strolling through my rooms calling me with smooth, seductive words: “You are a very fortunate young girl, so why remain a virgin all this time, when you could have the finest match of all? For Zeus, smitten by the shaft of passion, now burns for you and wishes to make love.800 [650] My child, do not reject the bed of Zeus, but go to Lerna’s fertile meadowlands, to your father’s flocks and stalls of oxen, so Zeus’s eyes can ease his fierce desire.” Visions like that upset me every night, till I got brave enough to tell my father about what I was seeing in my dreams. He sent many messengers to Delphi and Dodona, to see if he could learn what he might do or say to please the gods.810 [660] But his men all came back bringing reports of cryptic and confusing oracles, with wording difficult to comprehend. Inachus at last received a clear response, a simple order which he must obey— to drive me from my home and native land, to turn me out and force me into exile, roaming the remotest regions of the earth— and if he was unwilling, Zeus would send a flaming thunderbolt which would destroy820 his entire race, not leaving one alive. So he obeyed Apollo’s oracles by forcing me away against my will[670] and denying me entry to his home. He did not want to do it but was forced by the controlling majesty of Zeus. Immediately my mind and shape were changed. My head acquired these horns, as you can see, and a vicious fly began tormenting me with such ferocious stings I ran away,830 madly bounding off to the flowing stream of sweet Cherchneia and then to Lerna’s springs. But the herdsman Argus, a child of Earth, whose rage is violent, came after me, with all those close-packed eyes of his, searching for my tracks. But an unexpected fate[680] which no one could foresee robbed him of his life. And now, tormented by this stinging gadfly, a scourge from god, I am being driven from place to place. So now you understand840 the story of what I have had to suffer. If you can talk about my future troubles, then let me know. But do not pity me and speak false words of reassurance, for, in my view, to use deceitful speech is the most shameful sickness of them all. CHORUS Alas, alas! Tell me no more! Alas! I never, never thought my ears would hear a story strange as this or suffering so hard to contemplate850 [690] and terrible to bear, the outrage and the horror of that two-edged goad would pierce me to my soul. Alas! O Fate, Fate, how I shake with fear to see what has been done to Io. PROMETHEUS These cries and fears of yours are premature. Wait until you learn what lies in store for her. CHORUS Then speak, and tell us everything. The sick find solace when they clearly understand the pain they have to face before it comes.860 PROMETHEUS What you desired to learn about before[700] you now have readily obtained from me, for you were eager first of all to hear Io herself tell you what she suffered. Now listen to what she has yet to face, the ordeals this girl must still experience at Hera’s hands. You, too, child of Inachus, set what I have to say inside your heart, so you will find out how your roaming ends. First, turn from here towards the rising sun,870 then move across those lands as yet unploughed, and you will reach the Scythian nomads, who live in wicker dwellings which they raise[710] on strong-wheeled wagons. These men possess far-shooting bows, so stay away from them. Keep moving on along the rocky shoreline beside the roaring sea, and pass their lands. The Chalybes, men who work with iron, live to your left. You must beware of them, for they are wild and are not kind to strangers.880 Then you will reach the river Hubristes, correctly named for its great turbulence. Do not cross it, for that is dangerous, until you reach the Caucasus itself, the very highest of the mountains there,[720] where the power of that flowing river comes gushing from the slopes. Then cross those peaks, which stretch up to the stars, and take the path going south, until you reach the Amazons, a tribe which hates all men. In days to come,890 they will found settlements in Themiscyra, beside the Thermodon, where the jagged rocks of Salmydessus face the sea and offer sailors and their ships a savage welcome. They will be pleased to guide you on your way. Next, you will reach the Cimmerian isthmus, beside the narrow entrance to a lake. You must be resolute and leave this place[730] and at Maeotis move across the stream, a trip that will win you eternal fame900 among all mortal men, for they will name that place the Bosporus in praise of you. Once you leave behind the plains of Europe you will arrive in Asian lands. And now, does it not strike you that this tyrant god is violent in everything he does? Because this maiden was a mortal being and he was eager to have sex with her, he threw her out to wander the whole world. Young girl, the one you found to seek your hand910 is vicious. As for the story you just heard, you should know this—I am not even past[740] the opening prelude. IO O no, no, no! Alas! PROMETHEUS Are you crying and moaning once again? How will you act once you have learned from me the agonies that still remain? CHORUS You mean you have still more to say about her woes? PROMETHEUS I do—a wintry sea of dreadful pain. IO What point is there for me in living then? Why do I not hurl myself this instant920 from these rough rocks, fall to the plain below, and put an end to all my misery? I would prefer to die once and for all,[750] than suffer such afflictions every day. PROMETHEUS Then you would find it difficult to face the torments I endure, for I am one who cannot die, and death would offer me relief from pain. But now no end is set to tortures I must bear, until the day when Zeus is toppled from his tyrant’s throne.930 IO What’s that? Will Zeus’s power be overthrown? PROMETHEUS It seems to me that if that came about you would be pleased. IO Why not? Because of him I suffer horribly. PROMETHEUS Then rest assured—[760] these things are true. IO But who will strip away his tyrant’s sceptre? PROMETHEUS He will do that himself with all those brainless purposes of his. IO But how? If it will do no harm, tell me. PROMETHEUS He will get married—a match he will regret. IO To someone mortal or divine? Tell me—940 if that is something you may talk about. PROMETHEUS Why ask me that? I cannot speak of it. IO His wife will force him from his throne? PROMETHEUS She will. For she will bear a child whose power is greater than his father’s. IO Is there some way Zeus can avert this fate? PROMETHEUS No, none at all—[770] except through me, once I lose these chains. IO Who will free you if Zeus does not consent? PROMETHEUS One of your grandchildren. So Fate decrees. IO What are you saying? Will a child of mine950 bring your afflictions to an end? PROMETHEUS He will— when thirteen generations have gone by. IO I find it difficult to understand what you foresee. PROMETHEUS You should not seek to know the details of the pain you still must bear. IO Do not say you will do me a favour and then withdraw it. PROMETHEUS I will offer you two possibilities, and you may choose. IO What are they? Tell me what the choices are. Then let me pick which one. PROMETHEUS All right, I will.960 Choose whether I should clarify for you[780] the ordeals you still must face in days to come, or else reveal the one who will release me. CHORUS Do her a favour by disclosing one and me by telling us about the other. Do not refuse to tell us all the story. Describe her future wanderings to her, and speak to me of who will set you free. I long to hear that. PROMETHEUS Well, since you insist, I will not refuse to tell you everything970 you wish to know. First, Io, I will speak about the grievous wandering you face. Inscribe this on the tablets of your mind,[790] deep in your memory. Once you have crossed the stream that separates two continents, [select the route that] leads towards the east, the flaming pathway of the rising son, [and you will come, at first, to northern lands where cold winds blow, and here you must beware of gusting storms, in case a winter blast980 surprises you and snatches you away.] Then cross the roaring sea until you reach the Gorgons’ plains of Cisthene, the home of Phorcys’ daughters, three ancient women shaped like swans, who possess a single eye and just one tooth to share among themselves. Rays from the sun do not look down on them, nor does the moon at night. Beside them live their sisters, three snake-haired, winged Gorgons, whom human beings despise. No mortal man990 can gaze at them and still continue breathing.[800] I tell you this to warn you to take care. Now hear about another fearful sight. Keep watching out for gryphons, hounds of Zeus, who have sharp beaks and never bark out loud, and for that one-eyed Arimaspian horde on horseback, who live beside the flow of Pluto’s gold-rich stream. Do not go near them. And later you will reach a distant land of people with dark skins who live beside1000 the fountains of the sun, where you will find the river Aethiop. Follow its banks,[810] until you move down to the cataract where from the Bybline mountains the sweet Nile sends out his sacred flow. He will guide you on your journey to the three-cornered land of Nilotis, where destiny proclaims you, Io, and your children will set up a distant settlement. If any of this remains obscure and hard to understand,1010 question me again, and I will tell you. For I have more leisure time than I desire. CHORUS If you have left out any incidents or can say more about what lies ahead[820] in Io’s cruel journeying, go on. But if that story has now reached an end, then favour us, in turn, with what we asked, if you by chance remember our request. PROMETHEUS Io has now heard about her travels, a full account up to the very end.1020 But so she learns that what she heard from me was no mere empty tale, I will go through the troubles she endured before she came here, and thus provide a certain guarantee of what I have just said. I will omit most of the details and describe for you the final stages of your journey here. Once you came to the Molossian plains and the steep mountain ridge beside Dodona,[830] the home of the prophetic oracle1030 of Thesprotian Zeus, that miracle which defies belief, the talking oak trees, clearly and quite unambiguously saluted you as one who would become a celebrated bride of Zeus. Is this a memory that gives you some delight? From there, chased by the gadfly’s sting, you rushed along the path beside the sea and reached the mighty gulf of Rhea and from there were driven back by storms. And you should know1040 an inner region of that sea will now, in days to come, be called Ionian,[840] a name to make all mortal men recall how Io moved across it. These details are tokens of how much I understand— they show how my intelligence can see more things than what has been revealed. The rest I will describe for you and her to share, pursuing the same track I traced before. On the very edges of the mainland,1050 where at its mouth the Nile deposits soil, there is a city—Canopus. There Zeus will finally restore you to your senses by merely stroking and caressing you with his non-threatening hand. After that, you will give birth to dark-skinned Epaphus, named from the way he was conceived by Zeus,[850] and he will harvest all the fruit that grows in regions watered by the flowing Nile. Five generations after Epaphus,1060 fifty young girls will return to Argos, not of their own free will, but to escape a marriage with their cousins, while the men, with passionate hearts, race after them, like hawks in close pursuit of doves, seeking marriages they should not rightfully pursue. But the gods will not allow them to enjoy the young girls’ bodies. They will be buried in Pelasgian earth, for their new brides[860] keeping watch at night, will overpower1070 and kill them all, in a daring murder, and each young bride will take her husband’s life, bathing a two-edged sword in her man’s blood. I hope my enemies find love like that! But passion will bewitch one of those wives to spare her husband’s life, and her resolve will fade. She will prefer to hear herself proclaimed a coward than the alternative, a murderess. And she will then give birth in Argos to a royal line. To describe1080 all these events in detail would require[870] a lengthy story. However, from her seed a bold man will be born, who will become a famous archer, and he is the one who will deliver me from these afflictions. My primeval Titan mother, Themis, revealed this prophecy to me in full, but to describe how and when it happens would take up too much time. And learning that would bring no benefit to you at all.1090 IO Alas, alas for me! These spasms of pain, these agonizing fits which drive me mad are turning me to fire. That gadfly’s string— not forged in any flame—is piercing me.[880] My fearful heart is beating in my chest, my eyes are rolling in a frantic whirl, and raging blasts of sheer insanity are sweeping me away. This tongue of mine is now beyond control—delirious words beat aimlessly against the surging flood1100 of my abhorred destruction. [Exit IO.] CHORUS That wise man was truly wise who first devised that saying in his mind and then whose tongue expressed the words aloud— the finest marriages by far are those[890] when both the parties have an equal rank. The poor should never yearn to match themselves with those whose wealth has made them indolent or those who always praise their noble birth. O you Fates, may you never, never see1110 me going as Zeus’s partner to his bed, and may I never be the wedded bride of anyone from heaven. I shake with fear to look on this unmarried girl, young Io, so devastated by the cruel journey, her punishment from goddess Hera.[900] For me, when a married couple stands on equal footing, there is no cause to fear and I am not afraid. So may the love of mightier gods never cast on me1120 that glance which no one can withstand. That is a battle where there is no fight, where what cannot be done is possible. I do not know what would become of me, for I can see no way I could escape the skilled resourcefulness of Zeus. PROMETHEUS And yet Zeus, for all his obdurate heart, will be brought down, when he prepares a match which will remove him from his tyrant’s throne[910] and hurl him into deep obscurity.1130 And then the curse his father, Cronos, spoke, the one he uttered when he was deposed and lost his ancient throne, will all come true. None of the gods can clearly offer him a certain way to stave off this defeat, except for me. I know what is involved and how to save him. So for the moment let him sit full of confidence, trusting the rumbling he can make high in the sky and waving in his hands that lightning bolt1140 which breathes out fire. None of these will help. They will not stop him falling in disgrace, a setback he cannot withstand. For now he is himself preparing the very one[920] who will oppose him, someone marvellous and irresistible, who will produce a fiercer fire than Zeus’s lightning flash, and a roar to drown out Zeus’s thunder. Poseidon’s trident he will split apart, the spear which whips the sea and shakes the earth.1150 And when Zeus stumbles on this evil fate, he will find out how great the difference is between a sovereign king and abject slave. CHORUS You keep maligning Zeus because these things fit in with your desires. PROMETHEUS They may be what I want, but they will come to pass. CHORUS So must we then expect someone to lord it over Zeus?[930] PROMETHEUS Yes. His neck will be weighed down with chains more onerous than mine. CHORUS Why are you not afraid to shout out taunts like this? PROMETHEUS Why should I fear1160 when I am destined not to die? CHORUS But Zeus could load you with afflictions worse than these. PROMETHEUS Then let him do it. I am quite prepared for anything he may inflict. CHORUS But it is wise to pay due homage to Necessity. PROMETHEUS Well then, pay homage. Bow your heads in awe. Flatter the one who has the power to rule, at least for now. But as for me, I think of Zeus as less than nothing. Let him act however he wants and reign for a brief while.1170 He will not rule the gods for very long.[940] But wait! I see the messenger of Zeus, a servant of our brand-new tyrant lord. No doubt he has come here to give us news. [Enter Hermes.] HERMES You devious, hot-tempered schemer, who sinned against the gods by giving their honours to creatures of a day, you thief of fire, I am here to speak to you. Father Zeus is ordering you to make known this marriage you keep boasting of and to provide the name1180 of who will bring on Zeus’s fall from power. Do not speak in enigmatic riddles, but set down clearly each and every fact.[950] And do not make me come a second time, Prometheus. What you are doing here, as you well know, will not make Zeus relent. PROMETHEUS Your speech is crammed with pride and arrogance, quite fitting for a servant of the gods. You all are young—so is your ruling power— and you believe the fortress where you live1190 lies far beyond all grief. But I have seen two tyrant rulers cast out from that place, and I will see a third, the present king, abruptly tossed from there in great disgrace. Do you think I am afraid and cower down[960] before you upstart gods? The way I feel is far removed from any sense of fear. So you should hurry back the way you came, for you will not learn anything at all in answer to what you demand of me.1200 HERMES But earlier with this wilfulness of yours you brought these torments on yourself. PROMETHEUS Know this— I would not trade these harsh conditions of mine for the life you lead as Zeus’s slave. HERMES I suppose you find it preferable to serve this rock than be a trusted messenger of Father Zeus. PROMETHEUS Insolence like yours deserves such insults.[970] HERMES It sounds as if you find your present state a source of pleasure. PROMETHEUS Of pleasure? How I wish I could see my foes enjoying themselves1210 the way I do. And I count you among them. HERMES You think I am to blame for your misfortune? PROMETHEUS To put it bluntly—I hate all the gods who received my help and then abused me, perverting justice. HERMES From the words you speak I see your madness is no mild disease. PROMETHEUS I may well be insane, if madness means one hates one’s enemies. HERMES If you were well, you would be unendurable. PROMETHEUS Alas for me! HERMES Alas? That word is one1220 [980] Zeus does not recognize. PROMETHEUS But time grows old and teaches everything. HERMES That well may be, and yet you have not learned to demonstrate a sense of self-control in how you think. PROMETHEUS If I had that, I would not talk to you— to such a subservient slave. HERMES So then it seems, as far as what my father wants, you will say nothing. PROMETHEUS Well, obviously I owe him and should repay the favour. HERMES You taunt me now, as if I were a child.1220 PROMETHEUS Well, are you not a child, or even stupider, to think you will learn anything from me? There is no torture, no form of punishment, that Zeus can use to force my mouth to speak[990] before these vicious chains are taken off. So let him throw his fiery lightning bolt, and with his white-winged snow and thunderclaps and earthquakes underground shake everything, and hurl the world into complete disorder— for none of that will force me to submit1230 or even name the one who Fate decrees will cast him from his sovereignty. HERMES But now you should consider if this stance of yours will help your cause. PROMETHEUS What I am doing now has been foretold, determined long ago. HERMES You self-willed fool, for once you should submit, given the present torments facing you.[1000] Let your mind be ruled by what is right. PROMETHEUS It is pointless to pester me this way— as if you were advising ocean waves.1240 For you should never entertain the thought that I will be afraid of Zeus’s schemes, turn into a woman, and raise my hands, the way that supplicating females do, and beg an enemy I hate so much to free me from these chains. To act like that is far beneath me. HERMES Well, it seems to me if I keep talking to you at great length my words will all be wasted—my appeals do not improve your mood or calm you down.1250 Like a young colt newly yoked, you bite the bit and use your strength to fight against the reins.[1010] But the vehement resistance you display rests on a feeble scheme, for on its own mere stubbornness in those with foolish minds is less than useless. If these words of mine do not convince you, think about the storm, the triple wave of torment which will fall and you cannot escape. First, Father Zeus will rip this mountain crag with thunder claps1260 and bolts of flaming lightning, burying your body in the rock, and yet this cleft will hold you in its arms. When you have spent[1020] a long time underground, you will return into the light, and Zeus’s winged hound, his ravenous eagle, will cruelly rip your mutilated body into shreds and, like an uninvited banqueter, will feast upon your liver all day long, until its chewing turns the organ black.1270 Do not expect your suffering to end until some god appears who will take on your troubles and be willing to descend to sunless Hades and the deep black pit[1030] of Tartarus. And so you should think hard. What I have said is no fictitious boast, but plain and simple truth. For Zeus’s mouth does not know how to utter something false. No. Everything he says will be fulfilled. Look around you and reflect. And never think1280 self-will is preferable to prudent thought. CHORUS To us it seems that what Hermes has said is not unreasonable. His orders tell you to set aside your stubbornness and seek out wise advice. Do what he says. It is dishonourable for someone wise to persevere in doing something wrong. PROMETHEUS Well, I already know about the news[1040] this fellow has announced with so much fuss. There is no shame in painful suffering1290 inflicted by one enemy on another. So let him hurl his twin-forked lightning bolts down on my head, convulse the air with thunder and frantic gusts of howling wind, and shake the earth with hurricanes until they shift the very roots of its foundations. Let him make the wildly surging sea waves mingle with the pathways of the heavenly stars,[1050] then lift my body up and fling it down to pitch black Tartarus, into the whirl1300 of harsh Necessity. Let him do all that— he cannot make me die. HERMES [to the Chorus] Ideas like these, expressed the way he does, are what we hear from those who are quite mad. This prayer of his— how is that not delusion? When does it stop, this senseless raving? Well, in any case, you who sympathize with his afflictions should move off with all speed to somewhere else,[1060] in case the roaring force of Zeus’s thunder affects your minds and drives you all insane.1310 CHORUS You will have to give me different advice and try to urge me in some other way in order to convince me. For I believe your stream of words is unendurable. How can you order me to act so badly? I wish to share with him whatever pain Fate has in store, for I have learned to hate those who betray—of all the sicknesses that is most despicable to me.[1070] HERMES As you wish—but remember what I said.1320 Do not blame your luck when you are trapped in Ruin’s nets, and never claim that Zeus flung you into torments without warning. No—you can blame yourselves. For now you know by your own folly you will be caught up in Ruin’s web, not by a secret ruse or unexpectedly. And from that net there will be no escape. [Exit Hermes.] PROMETHEUS And now things are already being transformed[1080] from words to deeds—the earth is shuddering,1330 the roaring thunder from beneath the sea is rumbling past me, while bolts of lightning flash their twisting fire, whirlwinds toss the dust, and blasting winds rush out to launch a war of howling storms, one against another. The sky is now confounded with the sea. This turmoil is quite clearly aimed at me and comes from Zeus to make me feel afraid.[1090] O sacred mother Earth and heavenly Sky, who rolls around the light that all things share,1340 you see these unjust wrongs I must endure!]]>

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Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

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Hypothesis Practice Exercise-Arachne & Minerva

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Acknowledgments

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Acknowledgements

The Public Domain Core Collection Project would not have been possible without the enthusiastic collaboration between staff, faculty members and students at Ryerson and Brock universities. We came together with a shared desire to make commonly used public domain texts more accessible to instructors and students in our institutions, Ontario and beyond. We also wanted to encourage instructors to use the texts as a basis for open pedagogy assignments with the aim of empowering students to become knowledge creators rather than just knowledge consumers.

Core Project Team

Ryerson University

Payton Flood, Digital Publication Coordinator
Nipuni Kuruppu, 4th year, Creative Industries student
Val Lem, Collections Lead, Faculty of Arts
Ann Ludbrook, Research Lead, Copyright and Scholarly Engagement Librarian
Emma Seston, 4th year, New Media student
Sally Wilson, Web Services Librarian, Project Lead

Brock University

Giulia Forsythe, Associate Director, Centre for Pedagogical Innovation
Cal Murgu, Liaison and Instructional Design Librarian
Jennifer Thiessen, Head, Teaching and Learning

Open Pedagogy Projects

We would like to give a special thanks to the faculty members and students who met our project with open minds and willing participation.

Roberto Nickel, Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director, Classics, Brock University

This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Strategy visit: https://vls.ecampusontario.ca.]]>

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Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

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Authors

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About

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Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

Series Introduction

Glossary

Book Information

L2-The Hieros Gamos of Zeus and Hera

Hera Vists Aphrodite

Hera Visits Hypnos (Sleep)

L2 Hypothesis-The Song of Ares and Aphrodite Homer

L3 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (1-152): the Muses & Creation

Proem = Introduction

The Epiphany of the Muses

Hesiod’s Hymn to the Muses

The Birth of the Muses

The Muses’ timai

Invocation of the Muses

The Primal Beings

The Children of Gaia & Ouranos: Titans, Cyclopes, & Hundred Handers

L3-Archilochus & the Muses (the Mnesiepes Inscription)

L4 Hypothesis-Hesiod's Theogony (the Succession Myth)

The Children of Gaia & Ouranos: Titans, Cyclopes, & Hundred Handers

The Succession Myth: Part 1

The Birth of Aphrodite

The Children of Night

The Children of Strife

The Succession Myth: Part 2 (Kronos)

Zeus releases the Cyclopes

Zeus releases the Hundred Handers

The Titanomachy

The Fate of the Titans & the timê of the Hundred Handers

The Typhonomachy

Zeus becomes king

The Wives of Zeus

L5 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Pandora (Hesiod's Theogony and Works & Days)

Hesiod, Theogony (lines 507-616)

Hesiod, Works and Days (lines 1-106)

L8 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 2

Aphrodite’s Great Speech

Ganymede

Tithonus

The Mountain-dwelling Nymphs

L9 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 1

Invocation

The Abduction of Persephone

Demeter’s Search

Hekate and Helios intervene

Demeter comes to Eleusis

Demeter in the home of Keleus and Metaneira

Iambe and Metaneira console Demeter

Demeter and Demophoön

L10 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Part 2

The Epiphany of Demeter

Demeter causes a famine

Hermes goes to Hades

Persephone returns

Demeter establishes the Eleusinian Mysteries

L7 Hypothesis-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Part 1

Invocation: the Universal Power of Aphrodite

The Three Exceptions

Not even Zeus is exempt

Zeus’s plan

Aphrodite arrives on Mount Ida

L6 Hypothesis-Prometheus & Io (Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound)

AthensAcrop

Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

L1 Hypothesis-Philemon & Baucis

Hypothesis Practice Exercise-Arachne & Minerva

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgements

Core Project Team

Ryerson University

Brock University

Open Pedagogy Projects

Accessibility Statement

Other Formats Available

Known Accessibility Issues and Areas for Improvement

Myths of the Greek and Roman Gods

Authors

Cover

Table of Contents

About