Translation of the fragments of the lost sequel to “Prometheus Bound”
1. The Chorus of Titans comes to Caucasus and greets Prometheus:
… beyond the Red Sea’s depths
that glitter like bronze,
Ethiopia’s sacred river, nourishing all,
and the circling streams of Ocean
where all-seeing Helios daily
bathes his immortal body,
refreshing his weary horse-teams
in gentle upwellings of water…
… by Phasis, rugged border
of Europe and boundless Asia…
we come…
…to witness your sufferings, Prometheus,
the piteousness of your bonds.
φοινικόπεδόν τ’ Ἐρυθρᾶς ἱερὸν χεῦμα Θα-
λάσσης χαλκοκέραυνόν τε παρ’ Ὠκεανῷ λίμναν †παν-
το† τροφὸν Αἰθιόπων, ἵν’ ὁ παντ{επ}όπτας Ἥλιος αἰεὶˈ
χρῶτ’ ἀθάνατον κάματόν θ’ ἵππων θερμαῖς ὕδατος ˈ
μαλακοῦ προχοαῖς {τ’} ἀναπαύει·
ἥκομεν… τοὺς σοὺς ἄθλους τούσδε, Προ-
μηθεῦ, δεσμοῦ τε πάθος τόδ’ ἐποψόμενοι.
πῇ μὲν δίδυμον χθονὸς Εὐρώπης μέγαν ἠδ’
Ἀσίας τέρμονα Φᾶσιν.
2. Prometheus, chained to the rocks of the Caucasian Mountains, addresses the Titans:
Race of Titans, kinsmen of my blood, Heaven’s progeny, behold me shackled, bound
to harsh rocks, like a ship moored fast by sailors
timid and fearful of night’s thundering sea.
Zeus, Cronos’ vengeful son, transfixed me thus;
Hephaistos’ craft then hardened the god’s rage.
With cruel hands he split my limbs with bolts
that, by his handiwork, I miserably
inhabit this bleak stronghold of the Furies.
Every third dismal day, with dreadful swoop,
Zeus’ minister, an eagle, with hooked talons
slashes my liver for its gruesome feast
until, glutted and stuffed on my fat vitals,
it utters a horrendous scream and soars
aloft, its feathered tail fanning my blood.
Then when my liver swells, regenerating,
it swoops back hungry for fresh butchery.
This guardian of my sorrows, whom I nourish,
consumes me living with unending pain,
for, as you see, imprisoned in Zeus’ chains
I cannot hurl this monster from my breast.
Deprived of any aid, I must endure
pernicious tortures, yearning for the death
that ends my woes, yet by the wrath of Zeus,
despite my wish, I keep this bed of anguish.
These ancient, grievous torments, magnified
through horrid ages, fasten on my body
from which drops, melted by the torrid sun,
run ceaselessly down the rocks of Caucasus.
Titanum suboles, socia nostri sanguinis,
generata Caelo, aspicite religatum asperis
vinctumque saxis, navem ut horrisono freto
noctem paventes timidi adnectunt navitae.
Saturnius me sic infixit Juppiter,
Iovisque numen Mulciberi ascivit manus.
hos ille cuneos fabrica crudeli inserens
perrupit artus: qua miser sollertia
transverberatus castrum hoc Furiarum incolo.
iam tertio me quoque funesto die
tristi advolatu aduncis lacerans unguibus
Iovis satelles pastu delaniat fero.
tum iecore opimo farta et satiata adfatim,
clangorem fundit vastem et sublime advolans
pinnata cauda nostrum adulat sanguinem.
cum vero adesum inflate renovatum est iecur,
tum rursus taetros avida se ad pastus refert.
sic hanc custodem maesti cruciatus alo
quae me perenni vivum foedat miseria.
namque, ut videtis, vinclis constrictus Iovis
arcere nequeo diram volucrem a pectore.
sic me ipse viduus pestes excipio anxias,
amore mortis terminum anquirens mali.
sed longe a leto numine aspellor Iovis.
atque haec vetusta saeclis glomerata horridis
luctifica clades nostro infixa est corpori,
e quo liquitae solis ardore excidunt
guttae, quae saxa adsidue instillant Caucasi.
(Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 2.10.23–5)
3. Prometheus recounts some of the benefits he bestowed on mankind:
…Horses, asses I gave them, the race of bulls
to bear their burdens and relieve their labors.
ἵππων ὄνων τ᾽ ὀχεῖα καὶ ταύρων γένος
δοὺς ἀντίδουλα καί πόνων ἐκδέκτορα.
4. Prometheus warns Heracles that on his journey he must face the North Winds:
Take this straight road, where you will first encounter
the gales of Boreas—there stay vigilant
against the howling blizzards that can swiftly
snatch men away like leaves in freezing whirlwinds…
εὐθεῖαν ἕρπε τήνδε· καὶ πρώτιστα μὲν
βορεάδας ἥξεις πρὸς πνοάς, ἵν’ εὐλαβοῦ
βρόμον καταιγίζοντα, μή σ’ ἀναρπάσῃ
δυσχειμέρῳ πέμφιγι <συ>στρέψας ἄφνω…
5. On the northern plains, Heracles will also meet
…free-roaming Scythians fed on mare’s milk cheese…
ἀλλ᾽ ἱππάκης βρωτῆρες εὔνομοι Σκύθαι
6. Heracles, under divine protection, will also meet the Ligures:
…You then confront fearless Ligurian warriors,
where, I foresee, your courage will desert you,
your arrows prove too few, and where you cannot
even throw stones, for the whole plain is smooth.
Yet, pitying you, the Father will spread clouds
above the land that drop a blanket of stones.
Hurl these, and you will rout the Ligurian hordes.
ἥξεις δὲ Λιγύων εἰς ἀτάρβητον στρατόν,
ἔνθ’ οὐ μάχης, σάφ’ οἶδα, καὶ θ<ο>ῦρός περ ὢν
μέμψῃ· πέπρωται γάρ σε καὶ βέλη λιπεῖν
ἐνταῦθ’, ἑλέσθαι δ’ οὔ τιν’ ἐκ γαίας λίθον
ἕξεις, ἐπεὶ πᾶς χῶρός ἐστι μαλθακός.
ἰδὼν δ’ ἀμηχανοῦντά σ’ ὁ Ζεὺς οἰκτιρεῖ,
νεφέλην δ’ ὑποσχὼν νιφάδι γογγύλων πετρῶν
ὑπόσκιον θήσει χθόν’, οἷς ἔπειτα σὺ
βαλὼν διώσῃ ῥᾳδίως Λίγυν στρατόν.
6. Heracles next meets the Gabians:
…Thereafter you will meet a folk more righteous
and more hospitable than any other,
the Gabians, a people who require
no plow or spade, no tool that breaks the earth,
to raise crops, whose fields, self-sown without toil,
ripen in bountiful harvests for mankind.
ἔπειτα δ’ ἥξεις δῆμον ἐνδικώτατον
<βροτῶν> ἁπάντων καὶ φιλοξενώτατον,
Γαβίους, ἵν’ οὔτ’ ἄροτρον οὔτε γατόμος
τέμνει δίκελλ’ ἄρουραν, ἀλλ’ αὐτοσπόροι
γύαι φέρουσι βίοτον ἄφθονον βροτοῖς.
7. Heracles aims an arrow at the divine eagle above Prometheus:
Archer Apollo, guide my arrow straight!
Ἀγρεὺς δ’ Ἀπόλλων ὀρθὸν ἰθύνοι βέλος.
8. Prometheus, now freed from his torments, thanks Heracles:
My fiercest foe has sired this dearest son!
ἐχθροῦ πατρός μοι, τοῦτο, φίλτατον τέκνον.
9. The Titan Chorus celebrates the reconciliation of Zeus and Prometheus:
When Strength links arms with Justice,
what mightier pair than this?
ὅπου γὰρ ἰσχὺς συζυγοῦσι καὶ δίκη,
ποία ξυνωρὶς τῶνδε καρτερωτέρα;