THE PROMETHEUS MYTH
Background for Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound

Prometheus (Greek meaning something like "the forward looking") was a Titan, an ancient race of more or less divine beings who lost their place to the Olympian gods in a mighty struggle of some sort. (The myths vary widely, but they all agree that the Titans lost.) Now after his triumph over the Giants, Zeus had only to deal with trouble from his family, and, potentially, from Mankind. In another part of the myth, Prometheus had made Man out of clay in a place called Panopea in Boetia, and Athene had breathed life into the images. Prometheus was understandably partial to his creations; Zeus, for reasons best known to the god himself, didn't care for Mankind and seemed to delight in depriving him of various comforts, including fire. In an act of civil (semi-divine?) disobedience, Prometheus stole fire (probably form Hephaistos' forge, but maybe from heaven-it depends on which version of the myth you read) and gave it (fire) to Mankind, transporting it to earth by means of a dry fennel stalk. He also taught Mankind all manner of civilizing arts and sciences, making them much more prosperous and happy. This, of course, annoyed Zeus no end.

As if that weren't enough, Prometheus had also tricked Zeus into accepting the least savory portions of animal sacrifices. It seems that since men had agreed to sacrifice animals to the gods and to share parts of the animals with them, there arose a dispute over just what parts of the animals should go to the gods and which should be kept by men. It fell to Prometheus to decide the matter. Accordingly, he killed an ox, disemboweled it, separating the flesh from the bones. He then wrapped the bones and the fat of the animal in the skin, and put the good parts into the stomach. When Zeus was asked to choose between the bundles, he naturally took the more appealing looking bundle of skin. (Caveat emptor, Emperor!) So Prometheus' trick secured the best parts for man and left the Olympian gods to feast on the leavings. This, of course, annoyed Zeus even more. And so, there was long-standing animosity between old Zeus and Prometheus.

To get to Aeschylus' story, Prometheus' mother was Themis, an all-knowing earth goddess (Aeschylus makes her the same as the earth goddess Gaia). After his triumph over the Titans, Zeus was in charge, but-usurper that he was-he knew that he was likely to be overthrown by one of his offspring. And there were plenty of those. Zeus got around. So he knew that he would be overthrown by one of his get, but he didn't know who the mother would be. Now Thetis, a Nereid, was fated to bear a son mightier that his father. (Ahem.) Prometheus knew because his mother had told him (and she knew all), and he wouldn't tell. Somehow Zeus found out that he knew, and ordered that he be tortured until he told Zeus who the patricides mother would be. for this purpose, Zeus sent the children of Styx, Kratos and Bia (Might and Violence, or Strength and Force depending on the translation), to chain our champion to a rock on an isolated mountaintop. This is where Aeschylus' play begins. Every day an eagle is to come and eat his liver and every night, his liver is to grow back so his torment will seemingly never end.

Later in the story, (in parts of two plays by Aeschylus, part of the Prometheia trilogy now lost) Zeus got it out of him. The news that it was Thetis prompted Zeus to see to it that she marry a mortal, one Peleus. After a very tricky courtship (she was a sea-goddess and very slippery 1] to catch and 2] once caught to mate with-she turned herself into various unpleasant things to put him off on their wedding night, but to no avail), the marriage was duly consummated and the semi-happy mother begat seven children, and tried to make each one immortal by putting them in the fire and burning away their mortality. Achilles was the only one of her children to survive, and that's another story altogether.

It would no doubt be helpful to know a little about some of the other characters who appear or are refered to in the play. The main ones are:

Hephaistos: Son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaistos was the blacksmith of the gods. In one version of the myth, he was lame from birth and so deformed and ugly that he was cast out by Hera, and taken in by Thetis and one of Okeanos' daughters, Eurynome with whom he lived for nine years. In another, he was cast out because he intervened in a quarrel between his parents. In either case, a Freudian might suggest that some of his sympathy for Prometheus' plight could be traced to his resentment of his parents. See also:

Hermes: The messenger of the gods, particularly of Zeus. See also

Inachos: After Zeus subdued the Titans, Inachos was the king of the land. He and several other judges had sided with Hera in a dispute with Poseidon over Argos.

Io: The beautiful daughter of Inachos, Io caught Zeus' wandering eye, and thus fell heir to Hera's jealous wrath. To hide her, Zeus turned Io into a heifer. But Hera must have seen through the gambit, because she asked Zeus for the cow, and, with the aid of Hermes, slew Argos Panoptes (the "all-seeing") who was watching the girl's every move, and sent a plague that drove the poor thing mad. Io began the journey on which she encounters Prometheus and which was to take her many places. She ended up in Egypt (as Prometheus predicts) and had a son Epaphos by Zeus, who impregnated her merely by touching her. (I'm not making any of this up.)In the Greek version, the Egyptians then worshipped her as Isis.

Kratos & Bia (Strength and Force, or Might and Violence): These two brothers were the sons of the sea nymph Styx and Pallas (no relation to Pallas Athene). Their brothers included Zelos and Nike (Emulation and Victory). In the great struggle of the Titans and Zeus, Styx took Zeus' side and gave him the use of her children. For their troubles they were allowed to dwell forever in heaven with Zeus.

Okeanos: Not to be confused with Poseidon, god of the sea, Okeanos was the great "river" that surrounded the earth beneath the great dome of Sky. Okeanos and his wife Tethys had countless children, the Okeanidai, or sea nymphs. One of these was Styx.

Styx: One of the sea-nymphs, Styx (the "abhorrent") is known as the river the dead had to cross to get to the underworld. Since she had aided Zeus in the struggle with the Titans, Zeus rewarded her by decreeing that no one--not even the gods--dare swear falsely on the River Styx. The punishment for forswearing on the Styx was a year of unconsciousness followed by nine years of banishment from heaven.

To read Elizabeth Barrett Browning's translation of Prometheus Bound, click here.