In Aeskilos (5th century BC) we meet the Nephelai conversing with the bound Prometheus: "Prometheus [who has just been chained to the mountain crag] : Ha! Behold! What murmur, what scent wings to me, its source invisible, heavenly or human, or both? Has someone come to this crag at the edge of the world to stare at my sufferings--or with what motive? . . . What may be this rustling stir of birds I hear again nearby? The air whirs with the light rush of wings. Whatever approaches causes me alarm".
[The Okeanides (Oceanids) enter on a winged car, probably representing the clouds.]: "Do not fear! For our group has come in swift rivalry of wings to this crag as friendto you, having won our father's consent as best we might. The swift-coursing breezes (aurai) bore me on; for the reverberation of the clang of iron pierced the depths of our caves and drove my grave modestyaway in fright; unsandalled I have hastened in a winged car (...)"
(Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 115 - 285 [trans. Weir Smyth]).
Aristophanes, in the 4th century BC, attributes the following words to Socrates: "Give heed to the prayers. Oh! most mighty king, the boundless Aer (Air), that keepest the earth suspended in space, thou bright Aither (Aether, Upper Air) and ye venerable goddesses, the Nephelai (Nephelae, Clouds), who carry in your loins the thunder and the lightning, arise, ye sovereign powers and manifest yourselves in the celestial spheres to the eyes of your sage . . . Come, oh! Nephelai (Clouds), whom I adore, come and show yourselves to this man, whether you be resting on the sacred summits of Olympos, crowned with hoar-frost, or tarrying in the gardens of Okeanos (Oceanus), your father, forming sacred Choruses with the Nymphai (Nymphs); whether you be gathering the waves of the Neilos (Nile) in golden vases or dwelling in the Maiotic marsh or on the snowy rocks of Mimas, hearken to my prayer and accept my offering. May these sacrifices be pleasing to you".
Chorus [of Nephelai] (singing): "Eternal Nephelai (Clouds), let us appear; let us arise from the roaring depths of Okeanos (Oceanus), our father; let us fly towards the lofty mountains, spread our damp wings over their forest-laden summits, whence we will dominate the distant valleys, the harvest fed by the sacred earth, the murmur of the divine streams and the resounding waves of the sea, which the unwearying orb lights up with its glittering beams. But let us shake off the rainy fogs, which hide our immortal beauty and sweep the earth from afar with our gaze" (...).
Attributed to Apollodorus (considered as pseudo-Apollodorus due to the difficulty in attributing the text with certainty, dating back to the 2nd century AD), we find the presence of the Nephelai: "Ixion fell in love with Hera and tried to rape her, and when Hera told Zeus about it, Zeus wanted to determine if her report was really true. So he fashioned a cloud (nephele) to look like Hera, and laid it by Ixion's side. When Ixion bragged that he had slept with Hera, Zeus punished him by tying him to a wheel, on which he was turned by winds up in the air. The cloud (nephele) bore Kentauros (Centaurus) from Ixion’s seed."
(...)
"Some say, that Helene, in accordance with the will of Zeus, was kidnapped by Hermes and taken to Aigyptos (Egypt) (...) and that Alexandros [Paris] proceeded to Troy with an image of Helene made from clouds (nephelai)."
(Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca E1. 20 and Bibliotheca E3. 5 [trans. Aldrich]).
Source: Theoi Greek Mytology, disponibile online: (https://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/Nymphai.html).
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Credits
concept, direction
Stefano Scarani
music
Stefano Scarani
musicians
Julia Chiner - viola da gamba
Stefano Scarani - tam tam, voice, percussions
Alba S. Torremocha - violin
choreography and dance
Noelia Sánchez, Laura Basterra
[RE]Voltes Dance Company
cinematography and post production
Stefano Scarani
Thanks to
Facultat de Bellas Artes Sant Carles
Universitat Politècnica de València
Centro Superior de Música del País Vasco Musikene
Spain 2021
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