The superannuation of Zeus
Cho. Thou word'st thy wishes against Heaven's high king.
Prom. My wishes, and the truth of what shall be.
Cho. Must we then look for one to master Zeus?
Prom. Yea, with a yoke yet heavier than mine.
Cho. How can'st thou talk so rashly, and not fear?
Prom. Why should I fear, whose fate is not to die?
Cho. He might decree some doom more painful still.
Prom. Let him ! Naught can surprise me, who foreknow.
Cho. Wisdom bids bow before Necessity.
Prom. Ay, bend and worship, fawn upon the strong!
Less than the least care I for Zeus's will.
Let him employ his strength even as he may,
For this brief hour. His reign will soon be o'er1.
•But despite this attitude of defiance and exultation the Titanic
sufferer in the following play, Prometheus Unbound, consents at
length to give up his secret—the oracle concerning Thetis—and
^hereby obtains release from his bondage2. Thus in the end Zeus
ls saved by Prometheus, and Thetis the fateful bride is bestowed
uPon Peleus3.
The myth is set out more lucidly by Aischylos' contemporary
Pindar :
These things the immortals planned,
When Zeus for Thetis' hand
With great Poseidon strove,
And either suitor vied
To have her as his own, his comely bride,
So learnt the power of love.
Howbeit their deathless wisdom did not take
The prize they purposed ; for, lo, Themis spake
And gave unerring counsel for their sake,
How that by Fate's decree
The mistress of the sea
Should bear her lord a prince more potent yet—
One who should launch a shaft
By his consummate craft
Swifter than lightning-flash,
Fiercer than trident's dash—
If she with Zeus or with Zeus' brethren met.
a p^.?h' P'v- 907 ff. trans. L. Campbell (with a few alterations).
Kal top (llpop,-q)6ta \varffai ((p-rjalv) AitrxuXos 8(t« to \)6ywv
"^")a.i "( \T- 7r<rf'i 6^(ti5o)s, (is Xl>e(u)v et(v) T0" airijs ytv{v)-r\8ivTa. Kpeh(r)oi Kara-
<*r-fra Tta-Tpbs- (60ec /c)a! 6vr)T(ip awoi>d)t;ovaiv a(uTT])v d(vSpl). See further Trag.
Sch P' 63 Nauck2-
^""^Mei-os fi6'' P'nc*- Istllm. 8. 57 (ii. 495 f. Abel, iii. -273, 21 ff. Drachmann) 6 Zet>s
T'5i TrXijaidirat ^kuXvOt] vtto rod Vlpop.-qdtw dra Il^Xe? ISo^ev a{rrr]v
Cho. Thou word'st thy wishes against Heaven's high king.
Prom. My wishes, and the truth of what shall be.
Cho. Must we then look for one to master Zeus?
Prom. Yea, with a yoke yet heavier than mine.
Cho. How can'st thou talk so rashly, and not fear?
Prom. Why should I fear, whose fate is not to die?
Cho. He might decree some doom more painful still.
Prom. Let him ! Naught can surprise me, who foreknow.
Cho. Wisdom bids bow before Necessity.
Prom. Ay, bend and worship, fawn upon the strong!
Less than the least care I for Zeus's will.
Let him employ his strength even as he may,
For this brief hour. His reign will soon be o'er1.
•But despite this attitude of defiance and exultation the Titanic
sufferer in the following play, Prometheus Unbound, consents at
length to give up his secret—the oracle concerning Thetis—and
^hereby obtains release from his bondage2. Thus in the end Zeus
ls saved by Prometheus, and Thetis the fateful bride is bestowed
uPon Peleus3.
The myth is set out more lucidly by Aischylos' contemporary
Pindar :
These things the immortals planned,
When Zeus for Thetis' hand
With great Poseidon strove,
And either suitor vied
To have her as his own, his comely bride,
So learnt the power of love.
Howbeit their deathless wisdom did not take
The prize they purposed ; for, lo, Themis spake
And gave unerring counsel for their sake,
How that by Fate's decree
The mistress of the sea
Should bear her lord a prince more potent yet—
One who should launch a shaft
By his consummate craft
Swifter than lightning-flash,
Fiercer than trident's dash—
If she with Zeus or with Zeus' brethren met.
a p^.?h' P'v- 907 ff. trans. L. Campbell (with a few alterations).
Kal top (llpop,-q)6ta \varffai ((p-rjalv) AitrxuXos 8(t« to \)6ywv
"^")a.i "( \T- 7r<rf'i 6^(ti5o)s, (is Xl>e(u)v et(v) T0" airijs ytv{v)-r\8ivTa. Kpeh(r)oi Kara-
<*r-fra Tta-Tpbs- (60ec /c)a! 6vr)T(ip awoi>d)t;ovaiv a(uTT])v d(vSpl). See further Trag.
Sch P' 63 Nauck2-
^""^Mei-os fi6'' P'nc*- Istllm. 8. 57 (ii. 495 f. Abel, iii. -273, 21 ff. Drachmann) 6 Zet>s
T'5i TrXijaidirat ^kuXvOt] vtto rod Vlpop.-qdtw dra Il^Xe? ISo^ev a{rrr]v