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quitejessi 's review for:
Prometheus Bound
by Aeschylus
(8/30/2022) *Pretentious review ahead*
Ah, Prometheus. Was he right in his actions? Should he have stepped out of his given bounds to do what he believed was the right thing?
While the big thing Prometheus is known for is giving fire to the just-made humans, Prometheus gave humanity more than fire. He gave intelligence, wisdom, memory, ships, the breaking of animals to ride and yoke, drugs/medicine, prophecy and divination, fire, and metals to people. In short: human culture.
For some reason, this made Zeus unhappy. Chained-to-a-rock-and-having-your-liver-eaten-by-a-hawk-daily levels of unhappy.
The play deals mostly with the consequences of Prometheus’ acts. Prometheus states: “No one dared stand up against this thing but me! I alone had the courage. I saved humanity from going down smashed to bits into the cave of death” (347-352). (Io also comes in briefly, serving as yet another example of Zeus’ immorality and tyranny.)
If I had to wager a guess, the play endures in part because of its sense of overarching morality. If we’re talking about morality, our human laws work best when they correspond to a higher moral law. When laws don’t correspond to a universal overarching standard of morality, we say they’re unjust. The Chorus harps on the tyrannical rulings of Zeus, stating: “His rules are new, they’re raw. He rules beyond the law.” (222-223). Morality is a big theme of the play. Was Zeus right in his actions? The chorus and the audience say “no.”
Prometheus states: “I meant to be wrong. I knew what I was doing. Helping humankind I helped myself to misery” (406-409). Prometheus did the right thing, though it cost him.
However, the Chorus asks: “Tell us, what’s the use of doing good when there’s no good in it for you?” (798-800)
That’s a great question.
But perhaps the stronger question is: would we have the same courage to do the right thing, even when faced with certain abandonment, exile, and tortuous punishment?
Ah, Prometheus. Was he right in his actions? Should he have stepped out of his given bounds to do what he believed was the right thing?
While the big thing Prometheus is known for is giving fire to the just-made humans, Prometheus gave humanity more than fire. He gave intelligence, wisdom, memory, ships, the breaking of animals to ride and yoke, drugs/medicine, prophecy and divination, fire, and metals to people. In short: human culture.
For some reason, this made Zeus unhappy. Chained-to-a-rock-and-having-your-liver-eaten-by-a-hawk-daily levels of unhappy.
The play deals mostly with the consequences of Prometheus’ acts. Prometheus states: “No one dared stand up against this thing but me! I alone had the courage. I saved humanity from going down smashed to bits into the cave of death” (347-352). (Io also comes in briefly, serving as yet another example of Zeus’ immorality and tyranny.)
If I had to wager a guess, the play endures in part because of its sense of overarching morality. If we’re talking about morality, our human laws work best when they correspond to a higher moral law. When laws don’t correspond to a universal overarching standard of morality, we say they’re unjust. The Chorus harps on the tyrannical rulings of Zeus, stating: “His rules are new, they’re raw. He rules beyond the law.” (222-223). Morality is a big theme of the play. Was Zeus right in his actions? The chorus and the audience say “no.”
Prometheus states: “I meant to be wrong. I knew what I was doing. Helping humankind I helped myself to misery” (406-409). Prometheus did the right thing, though it cost him.
However, the Chorus asks: “Tell us, what’s the use of doing good when there’s no good in it for you?” (798-800)
That’s a great question.
But perhaps the stronger question is: would we have the same courage to do the right thing, even when faced with certain abandonment, exile, and tortuous punishment?