A ESCHYLUS PROMETHEUSB OUND Translated by Ian Johnston Vancouver Island University Nanaimo, BC Canada 2012 Students, teachers, performing artists, and member of the general public are permitted to download and distribute this document freely and without permission; they may also edit or adapt it to suit their purposes. Commercial publication, however, is not permitted without the consent of the translator. For comments and questions, please contact Ian Johnston ([email protected]). .
PROMETHEUSB OUND 2TRANSLATOR’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 are included with the line above in the reckoning. All footnotes have been provided by the translator (often with the help of F. A. Paley’s commentary on the play). In this translation, possessives of names ending in -s are usually indicated in the common way (that is, by adding-’s (e.g.ZeusandZeus’s). This convention adds a syllable to the spoken word (the sound-iz). Sometimes, for metrical reasons, this English text indicates such possession in an alternate manner, with a simple apostrophe. This form of the possessive does not add an extra syllable to the spoken name (e.g.,HermesandHermes’ are both two-syllable words). 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 Boundwas apparently the first play in a trilogy (the other two plays, now lost except for some fragments, werePrometheus UnboundandPrometheus 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 assumes control of the gods and learns about the theft.
PROMETHEUSB OUND 3DRAMATIS 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 Oceanus1 OCEANUS: a god of the sea IO: daughter of Inachus HERMES: divine son of Zeus.
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