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Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus (Play of the Season Lecture) (Patreon)

Published:
2023-01-28 17:41:31
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

"Here is Prometheus, the rebel: nail him to the rock; secure him on this towering summit fast in the unyielding grip of adamantine chains."

'Prometheus Bound' by Aeschylus is a sublime Ancient Greek tragedy that continues to move and awe us today. 

We're discussing the birth of tragedy, the influence of Aeschylus, existential crisis, the theory of four humours, the theatre of Ancient Greece, the power of myth, and much more.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 why read Prometheus Bound?
  • 1:30 what happens in the play?
  • 3:00 who was Aeschylus?
  • 5:00 Ancient Greek drama
  • 7:00 agon & theatrical contests
  • 8:00 the birth of tragedy
  • 15:40 masks of Dionysus
  • 20:20 the power of myth
  • 23:00 protector-destroyer gods
  • 26:30 seeking adventure/trials
  • 27:00 where shall wisdom be found?
  • 30:00 fall narratives & good vs evil
  • 31:30 Prometheus & Milton’s Satan
  • 33:21 hubris & pride before the fall
  • 37:30 on stealing fire for mankind
  • 43:00 knowledge & existential crisis
  • 47:15 the eagle feasts upon his liver
  • 49:00 theory of the four humours
  • 50:00 why this play is always relevant
  • 53:00 Prometheus, Christ & pity
  • 55:00 on sacrifice, pain & story
  • 57:00 what do you make of this play?

Recommended Translations:

  • I personally love Philip Vellacott's 1961 translation of 'Prometheus Bound', available in Penguin Paperback here. 
  • The 1922 translation by G. M. Cookson is also a sublime choice, and one that I frequently return to. 

Further Reading Recommendations:

  • Aristotle's Poetics - This work is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding drama, character, and plot. It's slim but endlessly instructive. You may find it worthwhile to break it apart and cover your copy in notes.
  • The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche - If you found our discussion on the development of tragedy intriguing, you may want to follow up by studying this magnificent work by a great philosopher. 
  • The Theatre of War by Bryan Doerries - This work is tremendous for understanding how the Greek tragedies can help those suffering from trauma today. 

More Resources:

  • Theatre performance of 'Prometheus Bound': This theatre performance may not have English subtitles, but dipping in will still gift you with an understanding of the overwhelming power of the play when staged.
  • Aulos/double-pipes from Ancient Greece: For an idea of the kind of music that you would have heard when visiting the theatre, you may wish to enjoy this performance and this performance. 
  • 'Prometheus Bound' performed in English: You can watch excerpts from a superb production of this play in English here. 

Questions to Consider:

1) Do you identify with Prometheus?

2) What passages resonate most with you?

3) How would you stage 'Prometheus Bound' today?

Happy reading, everybody!

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Comments

Jennifer S

Yes, I have experienced the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished aspect sometimes in life's difficult moments. It's a palms up at shoulders situation. The stories of the Titans impress me, their struggles as new generation of gods the Olympians rose up. I wonder that possibly humans are create gods, heroes, celebrities because they want to ponder empathy, or mostly ponder what the heck makes greatness of all kinds, physical, magical, tyrannical, emotion-evoking, weather-changing, human-life altering greatness. The chorus with its strophe and antistrophe is a unique literary trick that I would like to use in the future writing, somehow; it's an interesting form of bickering. *******I would stage Prometheus Unbound today in very post-modern style and contemporary costume, in English, keeping the two actors and chorus. To present Prometheus Bound today, I would open with an urban homeless encampment, a beggar who is very weak, ill, can barely lift his head. A passerby, coming out of the Tube and walking rapidly en route to his presentation at a skyscraper office nearby, recognizes the beggar's unusual cap. He realizes that the beggar is Prome, a former co-worker. The chorus, elucidating the scenario, would be on skateboards coming into and out of the scene --- and speaking in rap style, angry/rude/and alternately hopeless and imploring. The beggar had been fired for installing carbon capture boxes on the roof tops of the company's buildings, a guerrilla act outside his employment description. Now the beggar is jobless, scabrous, filthy, starving, daily fighting to stay alive. Prome begs his friend, Hep, to remember their friendship and free him from the vicious downward cycle of homelessness. Hep had failed to defend Prome's actions previously because he was afraid to lose his job by speaking up. Prome begs Hep for medicine and begs him to ask the employer to use his wealth to help humanity. There is a subplot ending about Prome's old girlfriend who now rides past in a limo with the company owner, staring at Prome while the wealthy owner wonders whoever Hep could be talking to so intently, he must ask him later, or not.

Martin

Jennifer. Brilliant!!