Prometheus Bound (Dover Thrift Editions: Plays)

Aeschylus was the first of the three great ancient Greek dramatists. He lived from 523 BC to 456 BC. (the other two dramatists were Sophocles and Euripides). Having recently read Robert Kaplan’s Mediterranean Winter: The Pleasures of History and Landscape in Tunisia, Sicily, Dalmatia, and the Peloponnese I learned that that Aeschylus wrote this play, late in his life, in Syracuse (Sicily), then a Greek colony founded by Corinthians. (There are those who dispute whether or not he wrote it at all, with one faction claiming it was written by his son, after his dad’s death – but I will leave that for the PhD’s to duke out.)Fire is so essential to man’s existence that the ancient Greeks declared it as one of the four essential elements (along with water, air and earth). This play is the enduring myth how fire was originally obtained by humankind. Unlike the other three Greek elements, it normally required some work to obtain fire, like striking flint.There was a power struggle in heaven. Greek gods had numerous human characteristics (which seems to be true of all gods). Zeus rolled his father, Cronos, for his job. Ironically, or perhaps not so, Prometheus was on Zeus’s side in this struggle, but as so often happens, when power is being quickly consolidated, one’s erstwhile allies are jettison. As Aeschylus says: “For tyranny, it seems, is never free From this distemper – faithlessness to friends.” Zeus wanted to make his mark as a “tough guy,” tough on humans in particular. Prometheus took pity of them, and gave them one of the god’s “secrets”: fire. The play opens with Hephaestus, another god, shackling Prometheus to a rock in far off Scythia (the Siberia of the time for the Greeks – it is actually in modern day Russia (and the Ukraine), to the north and west of the Black Sea.As in most Greek drama, there is a chorus… actually three different choruses… that fulfill the traditional role of being all-seeing and prophetic. Concerning the gift, they say: “Prometheus founded all the arts of man.” And indeed, that is largely true, when it is considered that any work with the metals of Greek civilization: iron, bronze, silver and gold, requires fire.Though Hephaestus does the shackling, he and another god, Oceanus, seem to be sympathetic to Prometheus’ blight, as well as his actions that resulted in his punishment. Io is a female human who has caught the eye of Zeus, but does not like his attentions. She has had a conversation with Prometheus, and Zeus, mindful of the curse dad laid on him, is concerned about his own longevity on the throne, and therefore sends Hermes to find out what Prometheus might know about Io. True to his head-strong character he won’t tell.How does it all end? Well, that is truly lost to us, since this was the first play in a trilogy. The second play is entitled “Prometheus Unbound,” but only fragments remain. The theme of fire, and Prometheus have intrigued numerous writers, most famously Percy Bysshe Shelley who did write his own ideas on the second play, and called it by the same name. And I’ve decided to read it.As for Aeschylus’s (or his son’s) first play, and the enduring myth of rebellion in the heavens, 5-stars.

Always heard of people reference it in movies and TV. Finally decided to give it the time and it was completely worth every second! Comparable to the God and Satan story except in this one Promethius, the greek lucifer, is a good guy! awesome twist in concepts. Even though its a close story still very original and of coarse a classic!

Short read. Makes you hate Zeus. Had to read it for a mythology class but wouldn't have minded reading it for fun. Not that anyone's gonna read this review.

Excellent, great find and good read...

An "okay" rendering of the story of Prometheus. I had to read this version for a college literature class, and I'm thankful for the convenience of being able to find it online.

excellant

Take's you to another place in time.

In very good condition.

Learned things in here

Every should read this and understand that 'no good dead goes unpunished'.

A good book which details much more then Prometheus stealing fire. It is well worth the read of this classic.

VERY hard to usderstand