122 AESCHYLUS
With twisted snakes for ringlets, man-abhorred :
There is no mortal gazes in their face, 935
And gazing can breathe on, I speak of such
To guard thee from their horror. Ay, and list
Another tale of a dreadful sight : beware
The Griffins, those unbarking dogs of Zeus,
Those sharp-mouthed dogs ! — and the Arimaspian
host 940
Of one-eyed horsemen, habiting beside
The river of Pluto that runs bright with gold :
Approach them not, beseech thee. Presently
Thou 'It come to a distant land, a dusky tribe
Of dwellers at the fountain of the Sun, 945
Whence flows the River Aethiops ; wind along
Its banks, and turn off at the cataracts,^
Just as the Nile pours from the Bybline hills
His holy and sweet wave : his course shall guide
Thine own to that triangular Nile-ground ^ 950
Where, lo, is ordained for thee and thine
A lengthened exile. Have I said in this
Aught darkly or incompletely? — now repeat
The question, make the knowledge fuller ! Lo,
I have more leisure than I covet here. 955
Chorus. If thou canst tell us aught that 's left un- told, Or loosely told, of her most dreary flight. Declare it straight ; but, if thou hast uttered all. Grant us that latter grace for which we prayed, Remembering how we prayed it.
Prometheus. She has heard 96o
The uttermost of her wandering. There it ends. But, that she may be certain not to have heard
1 Literally, " Until thou shalt come to the cataracts, where."
2 The Delta of the NUe.
