Prometheus Bound

By Aeschylus

Prometheus, a Titan who defies the gods and gives fire to mankind, acts for which he is subjected to perpetual punishment. The Oceanids appear and attempt to comfort Prometheus by conversing with him. Prometheus cryptically tells them that he knows of a potential marriage that would lead to Zeus's downfall. A Titan named Oceanus commiserates with Prometheus and urges him to make peace with Zeus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sovereign
• Release date: Oct 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781911535744

Book preview

BOUND

PROMETHEUS BOUND

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

KRATOS

BIA

HEPHAESTUS

PROMETHEUS

CHORUS OF THE OCEANIDES

OCEANUS

IO

SCENE

Mountainous country, and in the middle of a deep gorge a Rock, towards which KRATOS and BIA carry the gigantic form of PROMETHEUS. HEPHAESTUS follows dejectedly with hammer, nails, chains, etc.

KRATOS

Now have we journeyed to a spot of earth

Remote-the Scythian wild, a waste untrod.

And now, Hephaestus, thou must execute

The task our father laid on thee, and fetter

This malefactor to the jagged rocks

In adamantine bonds infrangible;

For thine own blossom of all forging fire

He stole and gave to mortals; trespass grave

For which the Gods have called him to account,

That he may learn to bear Zeus’ tyranny

And cease to play the lover of mankind.

HEPHAESTUS

Kratos and Bia, for ye twain the hest

Of Zeus is done with; nothing lets you further.

But forcibly to bind a brother God,

In chains, in this deep chasm raked by all storms

I have not courage; yet needs must I pluck

Courage from manifest necessity,

For woe worth him that slights the Father’s word.

O high-souled son of them is sage in counsel,

With heavy heart I must make thy heart heavy,

In bonds of brass not easy to be loosed,

Nailing thee to this crag where no wight dwells,

Nor sound of human voice nor shape of man

Shall visit thee; but the sun-blaze shall roast

Thy flesh; thy hue, flower-fair, shall suffer change;

Welcome will Night be when with spangled robe

She hides the light of day; welcome the sun

Returning to disperse the frosts of dawn.

And every hour shall bring its weight of woe

To wear thy heart away; for yet unborn

Is he who shall release Chee from thy pain.

This is thy wage for loving humankind.

For, being a God, thou dared’st the Gods’ ill will,

Preferring, to exceeding honour, Man.

Wherefore thy long watch shall be comfortless,

Stretched on this rock, never to close an eye

Or bend a knee; and vainly shalt thou lift,

With groanings deep and lamentable cries,

Thy voice; for Zeus is hard to be entreated,

As new-born power is ever pitiless.

KRATOS

Enough! Why palter? Why wast idle pity?

Is not the God Gods loathe hateful to thee?

Traitor to man of thy prerogative?

HEPHAESTUS

Kindred and fellowship are dreaded names.

KRATOS

Questionless; but to slight the Father’s word-

How sayest thou? Is not this fraught with more dread?

HEPHAESTUS

Thy heart was ever hard and overbold.

KRATOS

But wailing will not ease him! Waste no pains

Where thy endeavour nothing profiteth.

HEPHAESTUS

Oh execrable work! O handicraft!

KRATOS

Why curse thy trade? For what thou hast to do,

Troth, smithcraft is in no wise answerable.

HEPHAESTUS

Would that it were another’s craft, not mine!

KRATOS

Why, all things are a burden save to rule

Over the Gods; for none is free but Zeus.

HEPHAESTUS

To that I answer not, knowing it true.

Reviews for Prometheus Bound

[clif_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

When Aeschylus wrote this play 2500 years ago could he have anticipated that people would still be talking about it this many years later? Goethe, Shelley and Karl Marx all referenced the story of Prometheus in their writing. Wikipedia's discussion of the Promethean myth in modern culture has many examples where book titles, names used in science, game names, works of art, and numerous other examples where the name Prometheus has been used. With such a famous name, this story deserves to be read. It should be acknowledged that the myth of Prometheus predated the play written by Aeschylus, so perhaps the playwright shouldn't get all the credit for the longevity of the story. The Great Books KC group selected this book for discussion because we had previously discussed Frankenstein, a Modern Prometheus. Our discussion spent considerable time discussing what Mary Shelly may have been thinking when she placed the name Prometheus into her book's subtitle. The logical conclusion is that Dr. Frankenstein was Prometheus and the Monster was the equivalent of saving humans, giving them fire and teaching them the secrets of divination. Assuming that Shelly intended the monster to be an example of a big mistake leading to unintended consequences, did Shelly think that humans were big mistake? One interpretation of the Prometheus is that he did a bad thing by defying Zeus's wishes and saving humans from being destroyed and giving them fire. Shelly must have been a romantic who thought that nature would be so much better off if humans were not on the scene. I prefer to believe that Shelly was thinking more about the fire given to humans than about humans themselves. Fire can do many good things, but too much of it can be undesirably destructive. It would follow that humans aren't good or bad, but rather how they use the fire given to them that's good or bad. The Promethean myth was a well known story to those living in the first century Greco-Roman world. That may explain why the new Christian religion spread as quickly as it did among the Greek culture of the middle east, and why they went on to developed the atonement theory. The image of Prometheus being spiked to a boulder has obvious similarities to the Christian crucifixion story. Both stories involve a god saving humans. Thus when a new religion came along that involved Christ dying for sinners, it made sense to the people at the time. It's interesting to note that Eastern Religions that were not influenced by Greek myths did not develop a religion that involved a god suffering for the benefit of humans. Perhaps God gave the Promethean myth to the ancient Greeks in order to prepare the mind set of the first Century Greco-Roman world to be open the Christian message. Read in December, 2008

[jpsnow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Again we have a deep look into the religious mindset of the Greeks. The play opens with Prometheus being led to the rock and bound by a regretful Haephestus. They discuss the unforgiving nature of Zeus, who ordered Prometheus' punishment: "For not by prayer to Zeus is access won; An unpersuadable heart hath Cronos' son." Prometheus was a minor member of the gods who gave fire to the humans. According to his speech while on the rock, he gave them knowledge, including writing, animal husbandry, medicine, and the wheel. Prometheus is given the opportunity, through Hermes, to repent but declines, saying that he knew the consequences and had to do what he had done. For this lack of regret, he is further punished. The rock closes in around him and he descends into Hades, where a bird picks at his liver each day. Prometheus predicts the downfall of Zeus. The play also includes a significant interaction with Io, who passes by Prometheus bound. Prometheus predicts the son of the 13th generation of Io will lead to the downfall of Zeus and also prophecies Io's journey. It's very interesting reading and very valuable as an eye into how the Greeks portrayed their own "mythology." It's also great poetry, with a variance in rhyme and a strong conveyance of moods.

[theinvernessie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had to read Prometheus Bound for my Greek Tragedies class. I was pleasantly surprised with it, it was relatively quick, and easy to follow. I loved it, quite frankly. It was fun to read, however it felt too short! (Crazy, right?)

[joririchardson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Prometheus Bound" tells the story of Prometheus, guilty of having given the gift of fire to human beings. For this, he is punished by Zeus and ordered to be chained to the side of a mountain for 1,000 years. This dramatic play focuses on Prometheus's lament, his stubborn hope, and his proud strength, in the midst of being so tortured.I loved the strong, bold poetry in this play.

[alcracka · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

We know the basic story of Prometheus: he gives fire to humans, is punished.

The story in Prometheus Bound is a little more complicated. One of the old school Titans, when their descendants (the Olympian Gods) under Zeus rebel, Prometheus tries to help the Titans; they spurn his help and he then changes sides. But Zeus turns out to be no more beneficent a ruler than Kronos was, so Prometheus once again switches, siding decisively with the common folk - humans - and giving them, along with fire, math, husbandry, and medicine. Now comes the punishment: the play opens as Hephaistos chains him down, and he whines like a bitch for like 30 pages before turning to self-aggrandizement and finally prophesying his own victory and the downfall of Zeus.

No wonder Karl Marx liked this play.

It's not terribly good. Certainly not as good as the Oresteia, and while it's unfair to say that because we're missing the second two parts of the Prometheus trilogy (stay tuned for my review of Percy Bysshe Shelley's recreation of Prometheus Unbound next week,) Prometheus Bound has nowhere near the depth of Agememnon, the first of the Oresteia trilogy and Aeschylus's best work. Apparently modern scholars (only in the past 20 years or so) are leaning towards believing that Prometheus Bound isn't by Aeschylus at all, and I see no reason to disagree.

Prometheus is one of our best metaphors. At his simplest: a genius chooses to share it with the proles against the will of the bosses and is punished. At what this play actually says: a genius goes with the revolution, hoping that life will be better under it; realizes that absolute power corrupts absolutely; and is punished. Either way, useful, although I prefer the second scheme for its depth and for its truth.

As a story it's terrific; whoever wrote this play didn't do a great job of expressing it.

The translation by Scully and Herington falls in the Fagles mode: a few too many modernizations ("Zeus is not / about to mellow," that seriously happened) but some lovely lines as well...uh, no, not really. Fagles can boast that, but Scully/ Herington have at best functional lines. I didn't care for this translation. I can't recommend it.

[danielstj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An amazing play. This is a recommended read for anyone interested in classics, ancient Greek literature, and drama.