Prometheus Bound

Summary

At the beginning, Kratos (strength), Bia (force), and the smith-god Hephaestus chain the Titan, Prometheus to a mountain in the Caucasus. Hephaestus expresses reluctance and pity to Prometheus but still will leave soon. According to the author, Prometheus is being punished not only for stealing fire, but also for thwarting Zeus's plan to destroy the human race. This punishment is especially infuriating since Prometheus was instrumental in Zeus's victory in the Titanomachy.

The Oceanids people appear and attempt to comfort Prometheus by conversing with him. Prometheus enigmatically tells them that he knows of a potential marriage that would lead to Zeus's downfall. A Titan named Oceanus express sympathy with Prometheus and urges him to make peace with Zeus but Prometheus explains to chorus that the gift of fire to mankind was not his only benefaction. He reveals that he taught men all the civilizing arts, such as writing, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, architecture, and agriculture.

Prometheus is then visited by Io, a human virgin pursued by a lustful Zeus. An Olympian transformed into a cow, and a gadfly sent by Zeus's wife Hera has chased Io all the way from Argos. Prometheus forecasts Io's future travels, telling her that Zeus will eventually end her torment in Egypt, where she will bear a son named Epaphus. He says one of her descendants (an unnamed Heracles), thirteen generations hence, will release him from his own torment.

Finally, Hermes the messenger-god is sent down by the angered Zeus to demand that Prometheus tell him who threatens to overthrow him. Prometheus refuses, and Zeus strikes him with a thunderbolt that plunges Prometheus into the abyss.

Elements of the Piece

Aeschylus

Aeschylus was born in the city of Eleusis, near Athens, in 525 BC and died in 456 BC. He was a Greek dramatist, the earliest of the city's great tragic poets. As the predecessor of Sophocles and Euripides, he is the founder of Greek tragedy.

Characters
1. Prometheus - The protagonist of the play. He is a titan, of the race of old gods overthrown by Zeus. He is wise, creative, ingenious, and blessed with the gift of prophecy.

2.Zeus - He rules by his own laws, creating a world where no one but him can be free. He is the antagonist in the play.

3. Hephaestus - God of the forge. Under Zeus's orders, he reluctantly chains Prometheus to the rocks.

Setting

A barren cliff in Scythia; a rock

Ancient Scythia covered a large area stretching from the Black Sea into central Asia.

Plot

Prometheus calls on nature to witness the suffering of a god at the hands of other gods, specifically the new ruler Zeus. He mentions that he has the gift of prophecy and knows all that will happen. He must live with his suffering because no one can fight fate. Prometheus hears the sound of wings and discovers that it is the Chorus of Oceanids, daughters of Oceanus, on winged chariots. The Oceanids express their sympathy for Prometheus's suffering, explaining that the new ruler of Olympus follows only his own laws. Prometheus prophecies that one days Zeus will be in danger and will be forced to befriend him to avoid it.

Conflict

In Prometheus Bound Aeschylus intentionally cultivates an apparently irresolvable conflict between force and intelligence by presenting Prometheus as the powerless but defiant victim of an unjust and powerful god who rules by arbitrary laws and demands blind obedience.

Untitled Slide

It occurs when lightning flashes and thunder booms after Prometheus refuses to cooperate with Hermes, the messenger of Zeus. The thunderbolts indicate that Prometheus has again incurred the wrath of Zeus and is about to suffer further punishment.

Lesson

Untitled Slide

• Sacrifice
• Hope