Source edition
Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Greek tragedy centers on the Titan Prometheus, who is chained to a desolate cliff at the edge of the world as punishment for angering the supreme god Zeus by bestowing fire and the arts of civilization upon humanity. The play begins with Prometheus being bound to the rock by Zeus's agents, after which he converses with the sympathetic Chorus of Oceanids. Refusing all offers of mediation and advice to submit, Prometheus remains steadfast in his defiance of Zeus's tyranny. The arrival of Io, a mortal maiden transformed into a heifer and tormented by Hera's wrath, deepens the drama as Prometheus prophesies her long wanderings and reveals that her descendant will eventually become his savior. In the climax, the messenger Hermes demands that Prometheus reveal a secret threatening Zeus's throne, but Prometheus proudly refuses to submit. Ultimately, as the play concludes, Prometheus is cast into the underworld amidst thunder and tectonic upheaval, crying out against the injustice of his suffering.