4.4: Prometheus, Guardian and Defender of Mankind

Having gained the gift of prophecy from his Titan mother, Clymene [Klee-MAH-nee], an Oceanide Titan (Aeschylus’s version names his mother as Themis), he represents celestial intelligence and is posted in diametrical opposition to Zeus, who represents celestial strength. Aeschylus’s interpretation of their enmity poses it as the entry to Zeus’ necessary evolution from a warrior-general who seized power by defeating his father’s generation, and maintained it by swallowing the female aspects of intelligence (another seizing of power), into a fair-minded leader who can reconcile the divided celestial powers into one principled being without use of force.

In the Prometheus Bound, the first of the three plays in the cycle, Zeus appears as a ruler of unchecked and unschooled power. Perhaps made more volatile for his lack of true omniscience, Zeus sees Prometheus as a rebellious threat to his autocracy. Zeus is a traditional lawmaker, and though audiences may note that he rarely applies the codes to his own moral conduct, he is still the rightful ruler and in that role must present unquestioned authority. Prometheus' theft of fire is therefore construed as a direct assault against his sovereignty, one that cannot be brooked. Greek audiences were acutely attuned to the importance of social cohesion in consideration of the fragility of empires and the conquests that consistently changed the shape of their world. The breech also brings to light Zeus' faults as a divine ruler: “this ethically infantile Zeus is neither omnipotent (all-powerful) nor omniscient (all-knowing),” making him subject to tragic miscalculation (Harris and Platzner 119).

In taking up the defense of humanity against Zeus' early rule, Prometheus not only ensures their continuance as a species, but also offers other gifts, enlightening them with the craftwork of civilization. His benevolent efforts included the alphabet and critical thinking, the tools that awakened their burgeoning minds and improved their governance over the environment. With such influence, humans rose to a status far above their previous state, bringing them closer, in some ways, to the Olympians they worshiped. Though still limited by their mortality, the gifts offered them the ability to build citadels, temples, and establish regimes, essentially the groundwork for human domination over the earth. His last gift, philosophical hope, may be the most valuable as it ensures humans will never surrender to despair, but seek to improve their circumstances and to increase their knowledge of the earth, heavens and the divine. However, in serving humans so well, Prometheus further divides them from the divinity of Olympus.

The irony of his gifts’ result is doubled by the meaning behind his own name: forethought.

Aeschylus’s Prometheus cycle (c.479-424 B.C.E) comes several hundred years after Hesiod’s Works and Days (c.700 B.C.E), a poem which positions Prometheus as a powerful rebel to Zeus’ steady rule. Prometheus' disruption of the social order mirrors the Ancient Greek vacillating attitude toward individualistic behavior. Though they valued individuals, conduct that separated one from the greater social structure, even if it was done for ethically just reasons, was viewed as a threat to the social hierarchy. Individual dissenters, nonconformists, and mavericks “can collide destructively with legitimate authority, damaging both themselves and the state” (Harris and Platzner 121). Hesiod’s interpretation of Prometheus' actions emphasizes this social law. Describing his character as “shifty,” blaming his theft of fire as the origins of human’s toil, Hesiod’s condemnation of Prometheus serves to justify Zeus’ extensive punishment. In addition to surviving the daily trial of having his liver eaten by Zeus’ eagle, Prometheus must watch helplessly as humans are subjected to a much deeper and more lasting punishment, the release of all evils and plagues upon mankind.