Prometheus Bound

Prometheus is one of the Titans, gods who ruled the universe before Zeus and the Olympians came to power. In the play, Prometheus is shown being punished by Zeus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to humanity. Though various gods—including Might, Ocean, and Hermes—urge Prometheus to submit to Zeus, Prometheus continues to speak out against Zeus’s tyranny, even though he knows that doing so will only lead Zeus to increase the severity of his punishment. As a prophet (his name means “Foresight”), Prometheus knows everything that is fated to happen. He thus knows that it is his fate to suffer Zeus’s anger, and so he resolves to endure.

But Prometheus also knows Zeus’s fate: Specifically, he knows that Zeus will someday be overthrown by one of his sons. Though Zeus sends Hermes to find out more information about his fated downfall, Prometheus steadfastly refuses to tell him anything. The play ends with Zeus sending a great cosmic cataclysm to bury Prometheus until he agrees to tell him what he knows.

The Chorus is made up of Oceanids, daughters of the Titan Ocean. These female goddesses, connected with the sea, try to comfort Prometheus throughout the play.