Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus
An ancient Greek tragedy that has been read and reviewed since 415 BC. The plot deals with Prometheus, who is being punished for stealing fire, and for undermining the God of Gods, Zeus.
Aside from the formalities of the story, what is the narrative trying to tell us? What was Aeschylus trying to achieve? This is a tricky question with no clear answers, in my opinion.
The story seems to parallel the classic Western/Christian tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, except the fire that Prometheus stole seems to me to be more a metaphor for modern technology. We can use knowledge and technology to advance society, but what are the consequences that we don't even understand? Like many of the other writers (Dewey comes to mind) this seems to be a theme that reoccurs. However, this change seems to be happening in a evolutionary pattern--it almost seems destined by fate.
There seems to be a division among the dueling divinities, all the gods are battling (Zeus versus his brothers). So, against this background of a change of technology, there is this power stuggle.
While reading this I couldn't help but consider who the audience was for this ancient play. How was it received? Was it a religious experience seeing a play? Was it the retelling of an ancient legend? I suspect the latter, but it took on a heightened dimension seeing it unfold in dramatic form. The dramatist had to retell the story, inject it with ideologies, and create a perfect experience.
In researching this play, I saw that there were possibly two "sequel" plays in the trilogy, but that there is controversy of whether these plays actually exist. Which left me thinking, what would happen in Volume 2 and 3?? Does advancement and knowledge defeat raw power?? A constant struggle examined for centuries.......
No comments:
Post a Comment