A blog about the Classical Studies or Ancient History in the Modern World with some emphasis on Latin and Ancient Greek.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Two thoughts of the day: The Eagle and Pandora
Pandora or the nameless first woman that Hesoid describes in his "Theogony" and "Works and Days" as a woman whom:
"He (Zeus) commanded Hermes to put both the mind of a dog/bitch and the custom of a thief."
"ἐν δὲ θέμεν κύνεόν τε νόον καὶ ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος Ἑρμείην ἤνωγε"
* However it should be noted that "ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος" and "θέμεν κύνεόν" are both accusative even though my translation hints possession.
The reason why I mention this is for my own information due to the paper I wrote on Semonides Poem 7: "On Women" A link to my paper is here.
The eagle or CaucasianEagle that is sent to Prometheus to eat his liver out, I discovered today can be considered a sibling to the Chimera, Scylla, Cerberus, Hydra and Orthus and son to Typhon and Echinda.
*Echinda being the grandaughter of Medusa, neice to Pegasus. The whole half woman, half snake thing makes sense now.
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 120 :
"When he [Herakles] reached the mainland on the other side he killed with an arrow the Eagle on the Kaukasos, the product of Ekhidna and Typhon that had been eating the liver of Prometheus."
(Could not find the Greek)
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 1021 ff :
"The winged hound of Zeus, the ravening eagle, coming an unbidden banqueter the whole day long, with savage appetite shall tear your body piecemeal into great rents and feast his fill upon your liver until it is black with gnawing." Hermes
Διὸς δέ τοί
πτηνὸς κύων, δαφοινὸς αἰετός, λάβρως
διαρταμήσει σώματος μέγα ῥάκος,
ἄκλητος ἕρπων δαιταλεὺς πανήμερος,
1025κελαινόβρωτον δ᾽ ἧπαρ ἐκθοινήσεται.
My translation:
The winged hound of Zeus, blood eagle, rushing
He will cut limb to limb the great tatters of your body
crawling uncalled feaster πανήμερος,
He will feast on your liver (until) black and bloody with gnawing.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 15 :
Then, too, he sent an Eagle to him to eat out his liver which was constantly renewed at night. Some have said that this eagle was born from Typhon and Echidna, other from Terra and Tartarus, but many point out it was made by the hands of Vulcanus and given life by Jove...
Odd that one account the eagle is made and the other it is an offspring of the most feared monsters of Ancient Greece.
Interestingly enough, there is an online comic dedicated to Prometheus and this Eagle.
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