Prometheus Bound Analysis
In Prometheus Bound, Prometheus, a minor god, is being tortured by Zeus for
committing the crime of delivering fire to humans. He is visited by several beings, both Gods
and not, during the play. Ocean, one of the Gods who visits him, tells him “When one is wise, it’s
wisest to seem foolish.” To this, Prometheus responds with “as will be seen: that’s my condition,
not yours.”(562-563) This exchange does well to capture the overall theme of this essay;
Prometheus is not actually stubborn and helpless like he appears to be, but is manipulating his
torture and the situation to his advantage. This essay will demonstrate that Prometheus doesn’t
actually want to to be freed from his torture, and is instead using it to give himself a platform, as
shown by how stubborn and vocal he is. It will also demonstrate how uses the platform gained
from his torture to give himself a sympathetic impression, and to give Zeus the impression of a
cruel, treacherous tyrant.
Prometheus is so ‘stubborn’ about refusing to bow to Zeus because he doesn’t actually
want to be free, and is using his torture to give himself a platform and build sympathy. From the
beginning, Prometheus is extremely vocal about his suffering and how unjust it is, crying out
“Earth, mother of us all, and you, Sun, watching over us all: see what a god can suffer at the
hands of the Gods!”(139-142) drawing attention to himself. Every single time someone comes
across him, he explicitly draws attention to himself, such as when he tells the Ocean’s daughters
to “Look!... Look at me!”(209) or tells Ocean “Well here’s a show for you: look at this friend of
Zeus!”(451-452) He then makes his suffering seem extreme and painful, saying “I never
dreamed it would be like this, this wasting away against the air hung cliffs, the desolate mountain
top, the loneliness.”(408-412_ He elaborates on the suffering this torture causes him, torture that
is "painful to suffer, pitiable to see,"(354-355) in order to build sympathy for himself; it’s hard
not to feel sympathy for someone sufferring so deeply. Yet, despite agonizing over how painful
his punishment is, he doesn’t actually struggle to escape or try to get help, as one would expect
him to if he actually wanted to be free of the torture. When Ocean tries to help him escape,
Prometheus says “it’s useless to bother on my account… No, keep quiet, stay out of
this,”(501-503) rejecting his help without even letting him try. For someone who moans over
“the tortures [he] must struggle with: through ten thousand years of flesh raked away,”(144-146)
and asks the Gods above when will “[Zeus] end this pain,”(150) he doesn’t seem particularly
keen on actually taking any action to get out of the torture. As a matter of fact, Ocean even
remarks on how “[he doesn’t] give in to torture: [he insists] on more of the same!,”(476-477)
providing insight to how Prometheus seemingly tries to get himself tortured even more. Not once
throughout the whole play does Prometheus ask for help, or even try to escape his torture. He
never tries to keep himself from harm, even though he’s warned by Ocean that "if you throw
such sharp words around, why even Zeus, even though He's seated way up there, may
hear!"(464-467). This is because he’s actually okay with the torture. He clearly does not actually
want to be freed from his torture, but instead is using the situation he’s in to purposefully draw
attention to himself and his suffering, building sympathy. This buildup of sympathy, and making
himself seem like a victim, is essential for the next step of his plan; making Zeus seem cruel.
Prometheus attempts to use his punishment to create an impression of himself as a victim
and a hero who has been wronged by the cruel Zeus, thereby turning opinions in his favor and
against Zeus. He does this by placing an emphasis on his ‘heroic’ actions, and then drawing a
contrast between them and his punishment in order to make Zeus seem cruel and unjust.
Prometheus repeatedly uses how he’s helped humanity to make himself seem heroic. He tells the
Chorus that, when Zeus meant to destroy humanity, “I alone had the courage, I saved humanity
from going down.”(348-349) By saying ‘I alone had the courage’, he places an emphasis on his
own heroic virtues, as well as his actions for humanity. Prometheus does this again by speaking
of “how loving (his) gifts were,”(638) listing them all off and ending with "In a word: listen! All
human culture comes from Prometheus."(737) He speaks of what humans were like before his
help, “what wretched lives people used to lead,”(631) and how “they swarmed like bitty ants in
dugouts in sunless caves” (649-650) to paint himself as a savior of humans. By painting himself
as a heroic savior, one whose crime is only to be “hated because (he) loves mankind more than
(he) should,”(184-185) he makes his torture and sufferring seem unjust. He describes his torture
as a “sight to bring disgrace on the name of Zeus,”(361-362) and that’s how he uses it- to make
Zeus seem unjust and cruel by torturing him for only doing the right thing. The previous
sympathy he built for himself, by lamenting his suffering, only makes the torture seem even
crueler, and by extent, makes Zeus seem even crueler. Prometheus further drives in the nail of
Zeus’ treachery by making it seem as though Zeus personally betrayed him. He tells the Chorus
that “thanks to the strategy I devised”(325) Zeus was able to win his throne as the king of the
Gods. Because of this, Zeus should be grateful and honor him; instead “this tyrant of the Gods so
profited from (his) help, (and) He paid (Prometheus) back in full, with evil.”(329-332) By saying
how Zeus repaid Prometheus’ favor with evil, he makes Zeus seem like a traitor, who does not
honor those who help him. This not only casts Zeus as treacherous, but also Prometheus as a
victim to Zeus’ betrayal and cruelty. Prometheus villainizes Zeus by building sympathy for
himself because of his torture, portraying that he should be honored as a hero, and then showing
how Zeus acts with cruelty in response to his heroic actions.
In conclusion, Prometheus actually manipulates the situation to his advantage.
Nowadays, this play is read with Prometheus as the hero. However, it’s important to note that in
historical context- Aeschylus having written this in Athens in the 500 BCs- Zeus was the most
prominent deity, and was worshipped. Writing a play with Zeus as the villain would be the
equivalent to writing a play with God as the villain, in modern days. Because of that reason, it’s
very possible that Prometheus Bound wasn’t written with Prometheus as the hero of the story,
but as the villain. The play portrays that Prometheus’ trickery and manipulations never stopeven when he’s being punished, he finds a way to turn it into a scheme. Therefore, the play may
have been written more with the message that Prometheus is a scheming god who got what he
deserved, not that he was a hero who was punished unfairly. Either way, Prometheus’
motivations in the play remain true; he uses the platform from his torture to give himself the
sympathetic impression of a god who is more of a hero than a criminal, and to give Zeus the
impression of a cruel, unjust tyrant.
Works Cited:
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound. Trans. James Scully and C J. Herington. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1975. Print.