§86καλοῦσιν: αὐτὸν γάρ σε δεῖ προμηθέως,
Kratos: Yes, that is what they call you.
§87ὅτῳ τρόπῳ τῆσδ᾽ ἐκκυλισθήσει τέχνης.
But you yourself will need a Prometheus (forethought), to find by what means you will roll out of this craft.
§88ὦ δῖος αἰθὴρ καὶ ταχύπτεροι πνοαί, §89ποταμῶν τε πηγαί, ποντίων τε κυμάτων §90ἀνήριθμον γέλασμα, παμμῆτόρ τε γῆ, §91καὶ τὸν πανόπτην κύκλον ἡλίου καλῶ: §92ἴδεσθέ μ᾽ οἷα πρὸς θεῶν πάσχω θεός.
Prometheus: O divine air, and swift-winged breezes, and springs of rivers, and the countless laughter of the ocean waves, and earth, mother of all, and you, all-seeing circle of the sun, I call upon you: see me, what things I, a god, suffer at the hands of the gods!
Behold by what insults torn to pieces, I shall struggle through a ten-thousand-year time.
Such an unseemly bond has the new ruler of the blessed ones devised against me.
§98φεῦ φεῦ, τὸ παρὸν τό τ᾽ ἐπερχόμενον §99πῆμα στενάχω, πῇ ποτε μόχθων §100χρὴ τέρματα τῶνδ᾽ ἐπιτεῖλαι.
Alas, alas! For the present and the coming suffering I groan, wondering where the limit of these struggles is ordained to rise.
§101καίτοι τί φημι;
Yet, what am I saying?
I foreknow all things clearly that are to come, nor will any unexpected pain come upon me.
τὴν πεπρωμένην δὲ χρὴ §104αἶσαν φέρειν ὡς ῥᾷστα, γιγνώσκονθ᾽ ὅτι §105τὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἔστ᾽ ἀδήριτον σθένος.
But I must bear my destined fate as easily as possible, knowing that the strength of necessity is resistless.
But I can neither keep silent nor not keep silent about these fortunes of mine.
θνητοῖς γὰρ γέρα §108πορὼν ἀνάγκαις ταῖσδ᾽ ἐνέζευγμαι τάλας:
For having bestowed privileges upon mortals, I am yoked in these necessities, wretched that I am.
§109ναρθηκοπλήρωτον δὲ θηρῶμαι πυρὸς §110πηγὴν κλοπαίαν, ἣ διδάσκαλος τέχνης §111πάσης βροτοῖς πέφηνε καὶ μέγας πόρος.
I hunted out the stolen source of fire, filled in a fennel-stalk, which has appeared as a teacher of every craft to mortals and a great resource.
Such are the penalties for my errors that I pay, nailed in fetters under the open sky.
§114ἆ ἆ [ἔα ἔα].
Ah, ah!
What is it? What sound, what invisible scent has flown to me, sent from a god, or a mortal, or a mixture of both?
Has someone come to this frontier rock as a spectator of my sufferings, or wishing what indeed?
§119ὁρᾶτε δεσμώτην με δύσποτμον θεόν, §120τὸν Διὸς ἐχθρόν, τὸν πᾶσι θεοῖς §121δι᾽ ἀπεχθείας ἐλθόνθ᾽ ὁπόσοι §122τὴν Διὸς αὐλὴν εἰσοιχνεῦσιν, §123διὰ τὴν λίαν φιλότητα βροτῶν.
Behold me, a bound, ill-fated god, the enemy of Zeus, who has come into hatred with all the gods, as many as frequent the court of Zeus, because of my excessive love for mortals.
Alas, alas! What rustling do I hear again near of birds?
αἰθὴρ δ᾽ ἐλαφραῖς §126πτερύγων ῥιπαῖς ὑποσυρίζει.
The air whispers with the light whirring of wings.
§127πᾶν μοι φοβερὸν τὸ προσέρπον.
Everything that approaches me is a terror.
§128μηδὲν φοβηθῇς: φιλία γὰρ ἅδε τάξις §129πτερύγων θοαῖς ἁμίλλαις §130προσέβα τόνδε πάγον, πατρῴας §131μόγις παρειποῦσα φρένας.
Chorus: Fear nothing! For this friendly band with swift rivalry of wings has approached this rock, having with difficulty persuaded our father's mind.
§132κραιπνοφόροι δέ μ᾽ ἔπεμψαν αὖραι: §133κτύπου γὰρ ἀχὼ χάλυβος διῇξεν ἄντρων §134μυχόν, ἐκ δ᾽ ἔπληξέ μου τὰν θεμερῶπιν αἰδῶ: §135σύθην δ᾽ ἀπέδιλος ὄχῳ πτερωτῷ.
And the swift-carrying breezes sent me; for the echo of the clash of iron pierced the depth of our caves, and startled my grave-eyed modesty; and I rushed unsandaled in my winged chariot.
§136αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
Prometheus: Alas, alas!
§137τῆς πολυτέκνου Τηθύος ἔκγονα, §138τοῦ περὶ πᾶσάν θ᾽ εἱλισσομένου §139χθόν᾽ ἀκοιμήτῳ ῥεύματι παῖδες §140πατρὸς Ὠκεανοῦ, §141δέρχθητ᾽, ἐσίδεσθ᾽ οἵῳ δεσμῷ, §142προσπορπατὸς τῆσδε φάραγγος §143σκοπέλοις ἐν ἄκροις §144φρουρὰν ἄζηλον ὀχήσω.
Offspring of Tethys of the many children, daughters of him who rolls around the whole earth with his sleepless stream, our father Oceanus, behold, look upon me, by what a bond secured on the summits of this ravine, on the topmost rocks, I shall keep an unenvied watch.
§145λεύσσω, Προμηθεῦ: φοβερὰ δ᾽ ἐμοῖσιν ὄσσοις §145aὁμίχλα προσῇξε πλήρης §146δακρύων σὸν δέμας εἰσιδοῦσαν §147πέτραις προσαυαινόμενον §148ταῖσδ᾽ ἀδαμαντοδέτοισι λύμαις:
Chorus: I see, Prometheus; and a fearful mist full of tears rushed upon my eyes as I looked at your body parched on these rocks in these adamantine-bound outrages.
§149νέοι γὰρ οἰακονόμοι κρατοῦσ᾽ Ὀλύμπου: §150νεοχμοῖς δὲ δὴ νόμοις Ζεὺς ἀθέτως κρατύνει, §151τὰ πρὶν δὲ πελώρια νῦν ἀιστοῖ.
For new steersmen rule Olympus, and Zeus rules lawlessly with new laws, and what was mighty before he now annihilates.
§152εἰ γάρ μ᾽ ὑπὸ γῆν νέρθεν θ᾽ Ἅιδου §153τοῦ νεκροδέγμονος εἰς ἀπέραντον §154Τάρταρον ἧκεν, §155δεσμοῖς ἀλύτοις ἀγρίως πελάσας, §156ὡς μήτε θεὸς μήτε τις ἄλλος §157τοῖσδ᾽ ἐπεγήθει.
Prometheus: Oh, if only he had sent me beneath the earth, and below Hades, the receiver of the dead, into boundless Tartarus, having savagely bound me in unbreakable fetters, so that neither god nor anyone else could rejoice at this!
But now, a wretched plaything of the air, I suffer to the delight of my enemies.
Chorus: Who of the gods is so hard-hearted that these things are delightful to him?
Who does not sympathize with your sufferings, except Zeus?
ὁ δ᾽ ἐπικότως ἀεὶ §164θέμενος ἄγναμπτον νόον §165δάμναται οὐρανίαν §166γένναν, οὐδὲ λήξει, πρὶν ἂν ἢ κορέσῃ κέαρ, §167ἢ παλάμᾳ τινὶ τὰν δυσάλωτον ἕλῃ τις ἀρχάν.
But he, ever angrily keeping his mind unbending, subdues the heavenly race, nor will he cease until either he satisfies his heart, or someone by some device takes his hard-to-be-captured rule.
§168ἦ μὴν ἔτ᾽ ἐμοῦ, καίπερ κρατεραῖς §169ἐν γυιοπέδαις αἰκιζομένου, §170χρείαν ἕξει μακάρων πρύτανις, §171δεῖξαι τὸ νέον βούλευμ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ὅτου §172σκῆπτρον τιμάς τ᾽ ἀποσυλᾶται.
Prometheus: Surely he will still, though I am tortured in strong fetters on my limbs, have need of me, the ruler of the blessed ones, to show the new conspiracy by which his scepter and privileges are despoiled.
§173καί μ᾽ οὔτε μελιγλώσσοις πειθοῦς §174ἐπαοιδαῖσιν θέλξει, στερεάς τ᾽ §175οὔποτ᾽ ἀπειλὰς πτήξας τόδ᾽ ἐγὼ §176καταμηνύσω, §177πρὶν ἂν ἐξ ἀγρίων δεσμῶν χαλάσῃ §178ποινάς τε τίνειν §179τῆσδ᾽ αἰκίας ἐθελήσῃ.
And he will not soothe me with honey-tongued spells of persuasion, nor will I ever, cowering beneath his harsh threats, reveal this, until he loosens me from these cruel bonds, and is willing to pay the penalty for this outrage.
Chorus: You are bold, and to bitter sufferings you yield nothing, and you speak too freely.
§183ἐμὰς δὲ φρένας ἐρέθισε διάτορος φόβος: §184δέδια δ᾽ ἀμφὶ σαῖς τύχαις, §185πᾷ ποτε τῶνδε πόνων §186χρή σε τέρμα κέλσαντ᾽ ἐσιδεῖν: ἀκίχητα γὰρ
But piercing fear agitates my mind; for I fear for your fortunes, wondering where indeed of these labors you must see the end by reaching land.
§187ἤθεα καὶ κέαρ ἀπαράμυθον ἔχει Κρόνου παῖς.
For unreachable is the character and unappeasable is the heart of the son of Kronos.
§188οἶδ᾽ ὅτι τραχὺς καὶ παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ
Prometheus: I know that he is harsh, and keeping justice by his own side...