Prometheus Bound 'By Aeschylus'

When Prometheus deceives Zeus and gives fire to mankind, he releases the wrath of Zeus upon mankind and himself. Zeus punishes Prometheus by binding him with “inescapable harsh bonds… he inflicted on him a long-winged eagle, which ate his immortal liver; but grew as much in all at night as the long-winged bird would eat all day” (Nelson, 43, 521-525). God’s punishment of the serpent does not seem as violent as Prometheus’s punishment, but they are both harsh. God also uses nature when punishing the serpent, like Zeus controlled the eagle. “Then the Lord God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this you are accursed more than all cattle and all wild creatures. On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life…They [mankind] shall strike at your head’” (Genesis, 3). The serpent and Prometheus are punished for eternity for rebelling against their authority.

Zeus finds out and is very angry with Prometheus for not only disobeying him, but also besting him and making a fool out of him. To pay for his crime, Zeus binds him to a pole and sends an eagle to eat away at his liver every day; and at night, it regrows only to be re-eaten the next day, and the next day, and the next, turning into a viscous cycle.

Hesiod’s versions of the Prometheus/Pandora story and the book of Genesis’s story of Eve’s act of eating the forbidden fruit both introduce a female figure whose actions are connected with the seeming introduction of evil into the world. At first glance, it appears that the Genesis story is more compelling than Hesiod’s account at explaining the origin of evil because its monotheistic structure makes the logic behind the evils far more clear and straightforward than Hesiod’s logic. The act of disobedience by Eve seems fully her own fault while God (Yahweh) is faultless. However, Genesis is too simple because the story of Prometheus/Pandora is far more complex. The Hesiod story of Prometheus/Pandora is more compelling than Genesis because the conflict allowed disputes between the gods in its polytheistic worldview rather than one god making Hesiod more compelling at explaining the evils of the world.

The manner in which Hesiod presents Zeus’s thoughts regarding his interaction with Prometheus help to provide us with a better understanding of Zeus’s characteristics. Lines 530-531 of Theogony, which describe the eventual freedom of Prometheus, stipulate that this came “not without the will of Zeus,” enhancing the efficacy of Zeus’s ultimate power. Hesiod had previously mentioned Zeus’s intelligence, but he delves more deeply into this attribute in examining the conflict at Mekone between Zeus and Prometheus. “Zeus, eternally wise, recognized the fraud and began to rumble in his heart trouble for mortals, and it would be fulfilled.” (Hesiod 552-55). Here, Hesiod’s audience begins to understand Zeus as an extremely wise, but vengeful god, an image which agrees with Homer’s Iliadic Zeus, and all other accounts of the god in ancient Greek literature. Hesiod goes on, however, to extend

Aeschylus' play, The Persians, took place at the Persian Royal Palace in Susa. It depicted the emotional response of the Persian Elders, the Queen Mother Atossa, a herald, King Xerxes, and the ghost of Darius upon hearing the news of the Persian defeat at the Battle of Salamis against the Greeks. The play began with a conversation amongst the Persians elders about their war with the Greeks. They possessed grave trepidations because of a lack of news from the front. This fear stemmed from the great risk King Xerxes took by calling all the heroes and soldiers of the Persian Empire to fight in Greece. At first, they were confident of their victory, describing their forces as an "unconquerable ocean of men". However, their fear persisted of their forces' decimation.

The mythological character and God, Zeus, is portrayed in many ways, by many different people. Hesiod describes Zeus as being relentless in his fury. When he gets mad he unleashes all of his power. If his brother Hades wasn’t in charge of the Underworld, he’d make all of Hell break loose. For example, in Hesiod’s Theogony, which is about when Zeus defeated his father, Cronus, he says, “Then Zeus did not hold back any longer, but now immediately his heart was filled with strength and he showed clearly all his force.” (Morford and Lenardon 85) He tends to treat others, mortals and immortals, very unfairly. Two mortals could do the same exact type of sacrilege towards him, and depending on how he felt that day, he would take two very different approaches to how he would treat them. He also doesn’t take any threats towards him very lightly at all. If anyone ever threatens him, he normally punishes them very severely, if he doesn’t destroy them completely. Hesiod’s approach to Zeus’ behavior is overdramatic, and makes it seem more extreme than it probably would’ve been.

Although neither his past nor his situation is different, Zeus’ character and actions in Prometheus Bound deviate greatly from his persona in the Theogony. Furthermore, this cannot be due to a chronological character development over a large period of time, since the content in Prometheus Bound is set at roughly the same time as Hesiod’s

Peter Paul Rubens’ painting, Prometheus Bound, is a large oil painting on canvas currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The painting is approximately sized at eight by seven feet and portrays the Greek Titan Prometheus chained to a cliff as his liver is eaten by an eagle. Rubens captures and allows the viewer to experience the most dramatic and gruesome moment of the myth, when the majestic bird attacks the Titan, by implementing the tenebrism technique, a unique composition and perspective, and symbolism.

Zeus was not faithful; Hera had a belligerence toward Zeus. She started a revolt against him and planned to kill him. She thought that she could strap him under a tree with some ropes and whip him. It seemed like the plan would work but it only became total chaos. Zeus came back, and punished Hera in a portentous way by hanging her and whipping her. He made her promise not to harm him again.

Despite the absence of Zeus in Prometheus Bound a reader can still get a great deal of description of and how Zeus rules the Gods and creation. It seems very different from the scene a reader can get in the Hesiod. Zeus is vilified in Prometheus Bound. He is the villain in my impression from the author. Zeus has inflicted the same punishment on Prometheus in both stories, but the brutality of this punishment is emphasized more in Prometheus Bound and all the characters in the story or play, except for Strength, show disdain toward this tragic and harsh punishment.

Did Mary Shelley initially title her work about Victor Frankenstein and his creation The Modern Prometheus solely because of the glaring similarities between their stories? That is a question that is often discussed, but a conclusion rarely arrives. One of the possible reasons for this could be because there are many different interpretations of the Promethean myth, which are mainly based on the ambiguous nature of the story. The parallels between the Promethean myth and Frankenstein are obvious, and that, in combination with her subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, indicates that Mary Shelley did have the myth in mind as she wrote the story.

     Prometheus, the Titan of Greek mythology, was considered to be the most important Titan ever in all the myths. He helped the human race tremendously in his efforts to sustain an easier lifestyle. Mankind had great respect for him because of his advantages and gifts or abilities he gave them. Also, his battle against Zeus as a result of his love for man was very much appreciated. Prometheus was one of the most interesting Greek mythology figures in his time. He was a very kind, loving, generous, and courteous god to mankind. This can be seen through many events in his life including a particular myth that the reader will acknowledge in this research paper.

Although the writer understands Prometheus’ sacrifice and offers him praise for it, he detests the outcome of the situation. Lord Byron seems to foster resentment towards Zeus for punishing Prometheus when the Titan only acted out of pity. Using phrases like, “the deaf tyranny of Fate,” and, “the wretched gift Eternity,” Byron appears all too familiar with twisted forms of judgement. Displayed so ruthlessly in this story, Zeus heartlessly exiled Prometheus to a fate so terrible, no mortal could truly imagine it. Zeus’ heartless decisions establish a tone of bitterness and resentment which subtly accompanies the other

Zeus gains pleasure from creating things he may destroy, which includes death (“The ruling principle of Hate/ Which for its pleasure doth create”). This is where Prometheus gains power over Zeus. While Prometheus is merely mortal, he can foresee his destiny, which is death; Zeus cannot see his own fate. At the end of the second stanza, Zeus demonstrates his apprehension and fear that his sentence may be reality: “And in thy Silence was his Sentence/ And in his Soul a vain repentance/ And evil dread so ill dissembled/ That in his hand the lightnings trembled,” (line 29-34). Here we see a reciprocation or exchange of power between Zeus and Prometheus. It is representative of the victory of the individual over an oppressor and directly compares Gods and man.

Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragic play that is one of three plays concerning the large-than-human figure, Prometheus. Zeus, the king of the Gods on Mont Olympus in ancient Greek religion, Prometheus, a Titan, he stole the fire from Mont Olympus and brought the secrets using fire to mortals, then punished by Zeus to a life bound in chains. This is where the title—Prometheus Bound—is given to the play. Prometheus myth is originated from ancient Greek poet Hesiod’s Theology. In Theology, Prometheus is an evildoer, a liar. However, In Aeschylus' works, he fights for human survival and against Zeus. Prometheus’s name means "anticipate," in the play, he had known that Zeus would punish him, but he declined to comment on the tales, instead, still doing the things under his willing. “It is painful to me to tell the tale, painful to keep it silent.” ---- Scene I “Prometheus Bound”. Prometheus violates the fate and against with it. This action is a tragedy but incredible. The image of Prometheus refers to the people's rebellion and noble. This revolution is intimately related to the progress of social civilization. It is rooted in the individual in the struggle with the fate, society, and itself. From time to time, people reading “Prometheus Bound”, Prometheus tagged as “iron-hearted” and “made of stone” but Zeus is “furious” and “arrogant”. However, the good