§657ἔτλην γεγωνεῖν νυκτίφοιτα δείματα.
Io: I dared to speak aloud the terrors that came by night.
§658ὁ δ᾽ ἔς τε Πυθὼ κἀπὶ Δωδώνης πυκνοὺς §659θεοπρόπους ἴαλλεν, ὡς μάθοι τί χρὴ §660δρῶντ᾽ ἢ λέγοντα δαίμοσιν πράσσειν φίλα.
And he to Pytho and toward Dodona frequent messengers sent, so that he might learn what he must do or say to act pleasingly to the gods.
And they came back announcing riddling, obscure, and unclearly spoken oracles.
§663τέλος δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βάξις ἦλθεν Ἰνάχῳ §664σαφῶς ἐπισκήπτουσα καὶ μυθουμένη §665ἔξω δόμων τε καὶ πάτρας ὠθεῖν ἐμέ, §666ἄφετον ἀλᾶσθαι γῆς ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτοις ὅροις: §667κεἰ μὴ θέλοι, πυρωπὸν ἐκ Διὸς μολεῖν §668κεραυνόν, ὃς πᾶν ἐξαϊστώσοι γένος.
But at last a clear response came to Inachus, plainly charging and telling him to thrust me out from both my home and my fatherland, to wander at large to the utmost boundaries of the earth; and if he were not willing, that a fiery thunderbolt from Zeus would come, which would utterly destroy his whole race.
§669τοιοῖσδε πεισθεὶς Λοξίου μαντεύμασιν §670ἐξήλασέν με κἀπέκλῃσε δωμάτων §671ἄκουσαν ἄκων: ἀλλ᾽ ἐπηνάγκαζέ νιν §672Διὸς χαλινὸς πρὸς βίαν πράσσειν τάδε.
Persuaded by such oracles of Loxias, he drove me out and shut me out from his home, unwilling as I was, and unwilling as he was; but the bridle of Zeus forced him by constraint to do these things.
§673εὐθὺς δὲ μορφὴ καὶ φρένες διάστροφοι §674ἦσαν, κεραστὶς δ᾽, ὡς ὁρᾶτ᾽, ὀξυστόμῳ §675μύωπι χρισθεῖσ᾽ ἐμμανεῖ σκιρτήματι §676ᾖσσον πρὸς εὔποτόν τε Κερχνείας ῥέος §677Λέρνης τε κρήνην: βουκόλος δὲ γηγενὴς §678ἄκρατος ὀργὴν Ἄργος ὡμάρτει, πυκνοῖς §679ὄσσοις δεδορκὼς τοὺς ἐμοὺς κατὰ στίβους.
And straightway my form and my mind were distorted, and horned, as you see, stung by the sharp-mouthed gadfly, with mad leaps I rushed to the sweet-flowing stream of Kerchneia and the spring of Lerna; and the earth-born herdsman, Argus, fierce in his anger, accompanied me, watching with his thick-set eyes along my tracks.
§680ἀπροσδόκητος δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀφνίδιος μόρος §681τοῦ ζῆν ἀπεστέρησεν. οἰστροπλὴξ δ᾽ ἐγὼ §682μάστιγι θείᾳ γῆν πρὸ γῆς ἐλαύνομαι.
But an unexpected, sudden doom deprived him of life; and I, stung by the gadfly, am driven by a divine scourge from land to land.
§683κλύεις τὰ πραχθέντ᾽: εἰ δ᾽ ἔχεις εἰπεῖν ὅ τι §684λοιπὸν πόνων, σήμαινε: μηδέ μ᾽ οἰκτίσας §685σύνθαλπε μύθοις ψευδέσιν: νόσημα γὰρ §686αἴσχιστον εἶναί φημι συνθέτους λόγους.
You hear what has been done; and if you can tell what remains of my labors, declare it; and do not, pitying me, comfort me with false words; for a most shameful sickness, I say, is fabricated speech.
§687ἔα ἔα, ἄπεχε, φεῦ:
Chorus: Ah, ah! Away, alas!
§688οὔποθ᾽ <ὧδ᾽> οὔποτ᾽ ηὔχουν ξένους §689μολεῖσθαι λόγους εἰς ἀκοὰν ἐμάν, §690οὐδ᾽ ὧδε δυσθέατα καὶ δύσοιστα §691πήματα, λύματα, δείματα κέν- §692τρῳ ψύχειν ψυχὰν ἀμφάκει.
Never, never did I think such strange words would come to my ears, or that such painful to look upon, hard to bear sufferings, pollutions, and terrors, would with double-edged goad freeze my soul.
Alas, alas, O fate, fate, I shudder as I behold the fortune of Io.
Prometheus: Too early you groan, and you are full of fear; hold back until you learn the rest too.
Chorus: Speak, teach us; indeed, for those who are sick it is sweet to know clearly beforehand the pain that remains.
§700τὴν πρίν γε χρείαν ἠνύσασθ᾽ ἐμοῦ πάρα §701κούφως: μαθεῖν γὰρ τῆσδε πρῶτ᾽ ἐχρῄζετε §702τὸν ἀμφ᾽ ἑαυτῆς ἆθλον ἐξηγουμένης:
Prometheus: Your former request indeed you obtained from me easily; for you wished first to learn from her, as she related her own struggle.
Now hear the rest, what sufferings this young woman must endure at the hands of Hera.
And you, seed of Inachus, lay my words to heart, so that you may learn the goal of your journey.
First indeed, from here, turning yourself toward the rising of the sun, travel over unplowed fields.
§709Σκύθας δ᾽ ἀφίξει νομάδας, οἳ πλεκτὰς στέγας §710πεδάρσιοι ναίουσ᾽ ἐπ᾽ εὐκύκλοις ὄχοις, §711ἑκηβόλοις τόξοισιν ἐξηρτυμένοι: §712οἷς μὴ πελάζειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἁλιστόνοις πόδας §713χρίμπτουσα ῥαχίαισιν ἐκπερᾶν χθόνα.
And you will come to the nomad Scythians, who dwell aloft in woven dwellings upon well-wheeled wagons, equipped with far-shooting bows; whom do not approach, but, keeping your feet close to the sea-resounding rocky shores, pass through the land.
§714λαιᾶς δὲ χειρὸς οἱ σιδηροτέκτονες §715οἰκοῦσι Χάλυβες, οὓς φυλάξασθαί σε χρή. §716ἀνήμεροι γὰρ οὐδὲ πρόσπλατοι ξένοις.
On your left hand dwell the Chalybes, workers of iron, whom you must guard against; for they are savage, and not approachable by strangers.
§717ἥξεις δ᾽ Ὑβριστὴν ποταμὸν οὐ ψευδώνυμον, §718ὃν μὴ περάσῃς, οὐ γὰρ εὔβατος περᾶν, §719πρὶν ἂν πρὸς αὐτὸν Καύκασον μόλῃς, ὀρῶν §720ὕψιστον, ἔνθα ποταμὸς ἐκφυσᾷ μένος §721κροτάφων ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν.
And you will come to the river Hybristes, not falsely named, which do not cross—for it is not easy to cross— until you come to Caucasus itself, the highest of mountains, where the river pours out its fury from the very temples.
ἀστρογείτονας δὲ χρὴ §722κορυφὰς ὑπερβάλλουσαν ἐς μεσημβρινὴν §723βῆναι κέλευθον, ἔνθ᾽ Ἀμαζόνων στρατὸν §724ἥξεις στυγάνορ᾽, αἳ Θεμίσκυράν ποτε §725κατοικιοῦσιν ἀμφὶ Θερμώδονθ᾽, ἵνα §726τραχεῖα πόντου Σαλμυδησσία γνάθος §727ἐχθρόξενος ναύταισι, μητρυιὰ νεῶν: §728αὗταί σ᾽ ὁδηγήσουσι καὶ μάλ᾽ ἀσμένως.
And crossing over the summits that neighbor the stars, you must go on the southward path, where you will come to the man-hating host of Amazons, who one day will settle Themiscyra around the Thermodon, where is the rugged Salmydessian jaw of the sea, hostile to strangers, a stepmother to ships; they will guide you, and right gladly.
§729ἰσθμὸν δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐταῖς στενοπόροις λίμνης πύλαις §730Κιμμερικὸν ἥξεις, ὃν θρασυσπλάγχνως σε χρὴ §731λιποῦσαν αὐλῶν᾽ ἐκπερᾶν Μαιωτικόν:
And you will come to the Cimmerian isthmus, at the very narrow gates of the lake, which you with bold heart must leave and cross the Maeotic strait.
And there shall be for mortals forever a great renown of your passage, and it shall be called Bosporus after your name.
λιποῦσα δ᾽ Εὐρώπης πέδον §735ἤπειρον ἥξεις Ἀσιάδ᾽.
And leaving the plain of Europe, you will come to the Asian continent.
Does it not seem to you that the tyrant of the gods is violent in all things alike?
τῇδε γὰρ θνητῇ θεὸς §738χρῄζων μιγῆναι τάσδ᾽ ἐπέρριψεν πλάνας.
For upon this mortal woman, he, a god desiring to couple with her, has cast these wanderings.
And a bitter suitor for your marriage you have found, O maiden.
οὓς γὰρ νῦν ἀκήκοας λόγους, §741εἶναι δόκει σοὶ μηδέπω ᾽ν προοιμίοις.
For the words you have now heard, consider them to be not even yet in the introduction.
§742ἰώ μοί μοι, ἐή.
Io: Alas, alas for me, ah!
§743σὺ δ᾽ αὖ κέκραγας κἀναμυχθίζει: τί που
Prometheus: Do you cry out again and moan?
§744δράσεις, ὅταν τὰ λοιπὰ πυνθάνῃ κακά;
What, I wonder, will you do when you learn the remaining evils?
§745ἦ γάρ τι λοιπὸν τῇδε πημάτων ἐρεῖς;
Chorus: Why, will you tell of any remaining sufferings for her?
§746δυσχείμερόν γε πέλαγος ἀτηρᾶς δύης.
Prometheus: Yes, a winter-stormy sea of ruinous misery.