Prometheus Bound By Aeschylus (525 - 456 B.C.) Essays -

"Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylus (525 - 456 B.C.) Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (525 - 456 B.C.) Type of Work: Classical tragic drama Setting A desolate Scythian cliff; remote antiquity Principal Characters Prometheus, the fire-bearing Titan demigod Hephaestus, an Olympian fire god Might (kratos) and Force (Bia), beings representing Power and Violence Oceanos, god of the sea, and brother to Prometheus Io, a river princess Hermes, Zeus the chief Olympian god's winged messenger A Chorus composed of the daughters of Oceanos, who converse, comment, and sing throughout the play Play Overveiw Prologue: Like other works of the Classical Age, Prometheus Bound doesn't begin in the beginning but leaps in medias res ("into the middle of things"), just as Prometheus, a defiant demigod, is brought in chains to be fettered to a desolate mountain crag. For the modern reader - as opposed to an Aeschylian audience, who would have already been conversant with the plot - a bit of background is in order. Prometheus was a god from the old order, the Titans, who had now all been overthrown by a group of young upstarts, the Olympians - all, that is, except for Prometheus. Rather than go down in honor, this half-god Prometheus, in order to avoid further violence, had chosen to desert over to the Olympian forces. In fact, he was instrumental in Zeus' ursurpation of the throne from the old Titan king Chronus. In the new order, Zeus stood as chief god. Now one of Zeus' first objectives was to destroy the rice of men, who, until then, had been a primitive, unenlightened and miserable lot. Zeus' intent was to replace mankind with a new, more noble race, servile to the gods' every whim. When the destructive proclamation went out, however, Prornetheus alone objected to Zeus' heartless proposal. He saw in man a spark of divine promise that even the gods might envy, and in order to save the human race, he willingly and courageously committed a crime: he brought fire down from heaven and taught the mortals how to use it. Furthermore, he tutored them in practical arts, applied sciences and philosophy, that he might edify, ennoble and empower them. But these saving acts were deemed highly treasonous; such knowledge in the hands of humans threatened to put them on an equal footing with the gods themselves. Furious, Zeus commanded the Olympian blacksmith god of fire, Hephaestus, and the gods of Might and Force, Kratos and Bia, to seize Prometheus and shackle him to a barren mountain-side. But Hephaestus approached his task halfheartedly. He had been taught to respect deity and he sympathized with Prometheus - after all, it didn't seem right that a divine being should suffer such scornful abuse. Pangs of sorrow overwhelmed him; to think that this god was doomed to remain in chains as the solitary guardian of a lonely Scythian cliff for all time to come! The exchange between Hephaestus and Might (Kratos) showed clearly their separate sentiments. >Even as the smithy was reasoning and pleading: Compassion will not move the mind of Zeus: All monarchs new to power show brutality .... How bitterly I hate any craftsman's cunning now! ... Prometheus! I lament your pain ... Might stood by complaining of Hephaestus' delay, and demanding full punishment: Now do your work - enough of useless pitying. How can you fail to loathe this god whom all gods hate, Who has betrayed to man the prize that was your right? ... The hammer! Strike, and rivet hurt against the rock! ... Teach this clever one he is less wise than Zeus. Now take your wedge of steel and with its cruel point Transfix him! Drive it through his breast with all your strength! The smithy had no choice but to comply with his orders; and tied with bonds "as strong as adamant," Prometheus was left alone on the jagged face of the cliff. Before departing, the mighty Kratos hurled one last taunt at the Titan god, asking how his human friends could help him now, and chuckling at the foolish Titans who had named him Prometheus, "the Forethinker." It seemed now, Kratos pointed out, that Prometheus required a higher intelligence to do his thinking for him. The captive god called upon the wind, the waters, mother earth, and the sun to look on him and see how gods tortured a god. He bemoaned his invincible fate, puzzled that he should be punished simply for loving mankind. Presently, a chorus of the daughters of Oceanos, Prometheus' brother, came on the scene. Seeing the tragic yet defiant figure on the crag, they felt both pity and admiration, and listened as their uncle described the events that had brought him to his exile. The chorus stayed to provide comforting music and cheer. Next,