ÆSCHYLUS'
PROMETHEUS BOUND
AND THE
SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.
LITERALLY TRANSLATED,
With Critical and IllustrativeNotes,
by
THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY, B.A.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
EDWARD BROOKS, Jr.
PHILADELPHIA:
DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER,
610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE.
Copyright, 1897, by David McKay
v
INTRODUCTION.
Æschylus, the first of the great Grecian writers oftragedy, was born at Eleusis, in 525 B.C. He was the son ofEuphorion, who was probably a wealthy owner of rich vineyards. Thepoet's early employment was to watch the grapes and protect themfrom the ravages of men and other animals, and it is said that thisoccupation led to the development of his dramatic genius. It ismore easy to believe that it was responsible for the development ofcertain other less admirable qualities of the poet.
His first appearance as a tragic writer was in 499 B.C., and in484 B.C. he won a prize in the tragic contests. He took part in thebattle of Marathon, in 490 B.C., and also fought in the battle ofSalamis, in 480 B.C. He visited Sicily twice, and probably spentsome time in that country, as the use of many Sicilian words in hislater plays would indicate.
There is a curious story related as to his death, which tookplace at Gela in 456 B.C. It is said that an eagle, mistaking hisbald head for a stone, dropped a tortoise upon it in order to breakits shell, and that the blow quite killed Æschylus. Too muchreliance should not be placed upon this story.
It is not known how many plays the poet wrote, but vionly seven have been preserved to us. That thesetragedies contain much that is undramatic is undoubtedly true, butit must be remembered that at the time he wrote, Æschylusfound the drama in a very primitive state. The persons representedconsisted of but a single actor, who related some narrative ofmythological or legendary interest, and a chorus, who relieved themonotony of such a performance by the interspersing of a few songsand dances. To Æschylus belongs the credit of creating thedialogue in the Greek drama by the introduction of a secondactor.
In the following pages will be found a translation of two of thepoet's greatest compositions, viz., the "Prometheus Chained" andthe "Seven Against Thebes." The first of these dramas has beendesignated "The sublimest poem and simplest tragedy of antiquity,"and the second, while probably an earlier work and containing muchthat is undramatic, presents such a splendid spectacle of trueGrecian chivalry that it has been regarded as the equal of anythingwhich the author ever attempted.
The characters represented in the "Prometheus" are Strength,Force, Vulcan, Prometheus, Io, daughter of Inachus, Ocean andMercury. The play opens with the appearance of Prometheus incompany with Strength, Force and Vulcan, who have been bidden tobind Prometheus with adamantine fetters to the lofty cragged rocksof an untrodden Scythian desert, because he has offended Jupiter bystealing fire from heaven and bestowing it upon mortals.
Vulcan is loth to obey the mandates of Jove, but urged on byStrength and Force and the fear of the consequences vii which disobedience will entail, with mightyforce drives the wedges into the adamantine rocks and rivets thecaptive with galling shackles to the ruthless crags.
Prometheus, being bound and left alone, bemoans his fate andrelates to the chorus of nymphs th