Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is probably the best and most classic telling of Prometheus, from his giving fire to man from the noblest of reasons to how horribly and seemingly unjustly that Zeus punishes him.

All arts and tools come from Prometheus, after all, and he should always be considered the greatest of all friends of mankind even though he is a titan.

However, he's also the one that pushed us to improve our intellect in the same way he did for himself, and in doing so, he brought harm upon himself. See a trend? We created war with the smelting of ore into weapons, after all. It's not all about cooking and keeping warm or creating medicine.

Was Zeus right? Was it right to keep an immortal chained and have a bird eat his liver for all eternity? Or was this just the graphic depiction of what we will always do to ourselves?

I wish I could read the other two parts of this play. I think that would be awesome. :) But alas. What we've got is still pretty raw and emotional and delightfully slanted. After all, we're meant to sympathize entirely with Prometheus throughout the play.

It reminds me an awful lot of Paradise Lost. :) Good motivations and charismatic leaders leading to roads paved to hell. :)


View all my reviews