By Teresa Benedicta
Word Count: 1751
Rating: G
Summary: Sequel to Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, Part 1
Prometheus Unbound
Chorus
Here she comes, weary and weeping,
The sorrowful traveler, cursed by the gods.
Archers, craftsmen, and savages have met her
In her woeful flight from the mighty Tyrant.
Across rough waters and mountaintops
She was lead by the rugged man called Amazus
Until she came out of her homeland into Asia.
She passed the dwelling of the swanlike hags,
Whose single eye looked upon her ugly horns.
Then the twisting Gorgons crawled close in pursuit
As she sought the river people on the bank of the Nile.
After wandering in darkness for many decades
She has come to the sunny land of Nilotis
To fulfill the prophecy of the chained prisoner
That she witnessed in horror so long ago.
But her fate has not yet been completed,
There is still more she must endure.
Whatever will happen to the sorrowful Io,
Doomed to be caught by He who seeks her?
But look, she seeks divine assistance
From the priestess of her new land.
Whatever will Aminia reveal
To the wretched, crying Io?
Io
How much longer must I live in flight?
Will I ever discover what is peace?
It was foreseen that I would settle here;
In this land I am to found a colony for my sons.
But who is to marry a wretch with horns upon her head?
Who can protect me from Zeus, he who eternally pursues me?
Aminia
Oh miserable daughter, cease your flight and resistance;
End the rage you have for he who loves you.
You were destined to be blessed in marriage
And you have only been fooling yourself.
All the darkness and grief you have endured
Was due to your own folly and pride.
But it does not have to have been in vain,
For if you accept the fate appointed to you
All your darkness will be filled with light.
Io
Do you mean that Zeus is still to wed me,
To enter into my house? To lie in my bed?
Aminia
That has always been your destiny,
You were chosen among many women
To be the bride of the Most High.
Io
But how can it be that He would not choose another,
Is He not a tyrant seeking satiation for his lust?
Aminia
A tyrant he may appear to us, for we are merely mortals.
We cannot understand the reason of the gods.
Dark mysteries are all that we may perceive,
But these mysteries are far superior to our sophistry.
Io
So I am to accept this Mighty Tyrant who has cursed me
With a neverending life of pain and sadness?
Aminia
By accepting love, you may find
That He never really cursed you after all.
Io
Oh weary soul, why have you been blind so long?
Oh wretched spirit, why have you not sought to escape the darkness?
I shall accept my bridegroom.
Where are you Zeus?
Show me my destiny, lead me to my fate.
I was meant to fulfill the purpose of my name.
Meet me in my bedchamber and receive that for which you came. (exeunt Io and Aminia)
Chorus
Prometheus, have you seen the fulfillment
Of that which you prophesied?
Is Zeus now to be ruined by his lowly marriage?
Is the time for your release about to come?
Prometheus
Hush, why would you pester me so?
Have I not already foretold what is to come for me?
Now is the generation of ten and three besides.
That young boy so favored by the Tyrant
Is the one destined to free me from my bonds.
He will overpower his father Zeus,
And complete the fate that his mother Io understood.
Chorus
Pitiful Io, was there no other way for her to end?
She was overruled by the Lightning King,
Doomed to bear him sons only to soon die in bitterness.
Prometheus
But wait and watch a little longer,
Though her life may be complete,
Her story is not yet through.
She lingers patiently in the underworld,
Awaiting the fate of her distant son Heracles.
Chorus
This young lad, merely a shepherd of the field,
Is destined to overthrow the gods,
And bring peace to heaven and earth?
Prometheus
Look now, watch him in his slumber.
Someone approaches him, revealing his fate.
See, his mother guides him still,
Speaking to him in his dreams. (exit Prometheus)
Io
My son, dear Heracles, please do not be frightened.
I come to tell you of the journey that awaits you;
The weary travels you will soon endure
To fulfill the fate which has been appointed to you.
Heracles
And who are you, a goddess, a nymph?
‘Son’ you call me, but my mother lives still,
What right do you have to call me by that name,
Speak, relay your message,
And tell me how, and from whence, you came.
Io
I am your ancestor, your mother from long ago.
I was blessed to wed the Mighty Zeus
And you are his son as well as mine.
I come from Hades to reveal to you your fate.
I witnessed your destiny from the prisoner Prometheus,
He revealed it to me in my cursed state long ago.
You are to descend into the netherworld
To free this poor, miserable captive.
You are the ransom to the slaves of bondage,
Destined for the salvation of the hostages of Hades.
Heracles
But how am I to get there,
Where am I to go?
I thought only gods could ascend from that deep darkness,
Am I to go there and bring freedom only to trap myself in misery?
Io
Do you not know that you are most favored by your father?
You are descended from the highest god,
Anointed by him at birth for great deeds.
You have the blood of the eagle within you
And you shall ascend from the darkness.
But only by first descending into Hades,
Will you ever bring freedom to those imprisoned.
Heracles
Reveal to me my route so that I may follow.
Io
Your road is not appealing, nor filled with pleasures.
It requires great strength, for you must face much pain,
You are destined to endure and to conquer Death.
Heracles
I know I must obey the will of Mighty Zeus,
He who directs me to my fate.
Whatever hardship is destined for me to endure,
I know my loving father will give me strength to undergo it.
Io
First you must make a sacrifice to your father
Requesting safe passage into and out of Hades.
Build a pyre of fresh olive branches
And on it sacrifice a pure newborn lamb.
Before you set flame to the body,
Take from the lamb a cup of blood
And carry it with you into the underworld.
After the pyre turns to ash, a single olive branch will linger unburnt.
Take it up and in your hands it will transform
Into a mighty weapon, a strong, reliable sword.
But leave it in your pocket and it will remain an olive branch.
Keep it with you for you will need it to get out.
When you arrive at the gates of Hades
You shall meet Death himself,
Wearing a hood with a scythe in hand.
He shall let you pass to the River Styx,
Where you will cross by way of the ferry
After revealing to Charon the blood of the lamb.
Descend way down into Hades and soon you will come
To the place where Prometheus is bound,
And by the help of Zeus, you shall free the captive.
After this, pour the blood of the lamb into the River
And other souls shall drink of this blood
And travel with you out of darkness into light
Filled with the new life granted to them
Through the sacrifice of the lamb to the Most High.
Heracles
If Zeus can work through me,
I am his to command. (exit Heracles and Io)
Chorus
He’s coming, Prometheus!
The one who shall release you.
He has made it past Death and
Across the River Styx.
Here he is, he approaches in swiftness
To fulfill your ancient prophecy
And overthrow the Mighty Tyrant Zeus.
Look, he takes from his pocket an olive branch.
No, now it is a mighty, strong sword!
He cuts the chains with the power bestowed from on high
And releases the long suffering Prometheus.
Prometheus
Heracles, you are here to restore me to glory.
I have suffered ten thousand days of awful pains.
Every day I awoke to the talons of the eagle
Tearing away at my liver and guts.
My insides were removed ten thousand days
And ten thousand times they grew back again
Only so that I could suffer the ripping of flesh
Again and again without end.
But now it is finished, my prophecy shall be fulfilled!
Heracles, the son of Zeus,
Are you not here to spite your father?
To overturn his unjust decree against me?
Will you finally end the awful tyranny
Of Zeus over the gods and humanity?
Heracles
Overthrow Zeus, my loving father?
No, on the contrary, I am here at his will.
He has forgiven you for your rebellion,
And wishes to have you united with him.
Prometheus
What? He is not fallen down from his tyranny!
Is he still King of the Highest Olympia?
Heracles
He is king of course, but in a sense he has fallen from tyranny,
For he has sent me, his son, to save those doomed,
And offers them a chance to be kings with him in Olympia.
Prometheus
If he is still ruling, I shall not accept,
Better to be a prisoner here and ruler of myself
Than to accept freedom at the price of obeying a tyrant.
Heracles
If I cannot convince, I certainly cannot force you.
Do as you wish and enslave yourself once more.
Chorus
But Prometheus, how can you do this?
Chaining yourself again?
Do you not want to be blessed and happy?
Do you not desire to be united with the Most High?
Were you not wrong in calling him a tyrant?
What if he is actually as his son describes him?
Prometheus
Quit your pestering, I warned you once already!
It does no good, for I will stay here for eternity
Rather than ever bow down to the command of Zeus.
Chorus
Pride really is the greatest evil,
Causing even the best of men to fall into misery
Even the love of the gods cannot save the proud
For they doom themselves by their pitiful resistance.
THE END