Reading Greek Drama
As we begin to read our first example of Greek theater, a few words are in order about the form and mode of ancient drama. Drama is a Greek word which means action, but an action which is represented far more psychologically than physically. No fights, no chase scenes. Yet everything in the play--from the opening lines to the closing--is anchored in that action. Greek drama, then, is at the same time a very spare and focused entertainment. There are no wasted words in a Greek play. Every line a character speaks adds definition to that character, and says something about his or her state of mind.
Because characters always speak in character, and not as an independent standard of truth, any praise or blame they offer about a person or situation should always be regarded first as a reflection of their particular outlook, and not as the playwright's personal view of what is right and wrong. When Might orders Hephaestus to nail Prometheus securely to the mountain "that he may learn, for all his cleverness, that he is duller witted than Zeus" (line 61), do we appreciate how this reflects Might's character and his own belief that the ability to apply brute force is the true measure of intelligence?
Words and gestures do it, not facial expressions. This is foreign to those of us brought up on TV and the movies. There we can follow the most subtle facial expressions on the wide screen. At the movies, even if people don't speak for 10 minutes, the director can still lead us through several changes of mood just by following the close-up shots of the faces of the characters. All characters on the Greek stage, though, were masked, so that playwrights had to put words into the characters mouths which were more explicit about what they were thinking or even doing. And, of course, the props were representational rather than realistic, so that words were again necessary to describe where the characters found themselves. Sometimes, this gives the reader the impression that ancient audiences must have been slow learners, but it is only to set the scene in the absence of more sophisticated props. Their advantage over modern audiences was that they were more skillful listeners, and picked up more subtle verbal hints about character and intention.
Pay attention to the entrances of characters, which are always timed for the most appropriate moment for the particular person to enter. Appropriate for what it does to advance the story and for what it does to deepen our understanding of the main character or characters. The action is made more poignant by the characters, who are distinguished by status, gender, age, rank, title, religious and political beliefs, etc. Many of these qualities are brought out through dialogue between characters.
What action is the drama of the Prometheus Bound?
A Word about the Chorus
The chorus of Greek tragedy will be new to many readers. Originally Greek theater was a choral performance, combining dance as well as choral singing and perhaps recitation. (The Greek word 'choros' means 'dance.') The chorus could divide into halves, with each half delivering lines in turn, carrying on dialogue between themselves. Eventually, a first actor was introduced (Greek 'protagonistes'). This character was able to engage in dialogue with the chorus. A second actor was later introduced (by Aeschylus). Actors were capable of playing two roles each. So that in a single play with two actors four roles were possible. Of course, exits and entrances would have to be arranged so that the characters played by the same actor were never on stage at the same time.
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
The setting: Prometheus is being nailed and chained to a rocky crag in the Caucasus Mountains of Scythia, far from civilization. All the action of the play takes place here. What is the significance of this remoteness?
Who has the first words at the opening of the Prometheus Bound? With no introductory comments, or director's notes, how does Aeschylus help us to know what kind of a character Might is?
What is the task of Hephaestus? What is his attitude toward the task? Is there unity among the divinities carrying out the orders of Zeus? Might just said that Prometheus "must learn to endure and like the sovreignty of Zeus." Does Hephaestus "like" this particular manifestation of the sovreignty of Zeus? Do the other characters of this play? How long will Prometheus's punishment last? What is wrong with what Prometheus has done?
How does Prometheus describe his role in the Titanomachy? Why did the Titans reject his offer of help? What, in his view, was his decisive contribution to the victory of the Olympians? How is this different from Hesiod's description of the Olympian defeat of the Titans? Describe the nature of Zeus's rule? How long has he been supreme? Is he all-powerful, or are there forces that he must acknowledge and take into account? What leverage does Prometheus have over Zeus?
What is the attitude of the Chorus, daughters of Oceanos, toward what is happening? Where do their sympatheties lie? with Prometheus? with Zeus? In what matters are their loyalties divided between the two?
When Oceanos enters he describes his ride on a winged sea-creature: "with the mind, no bridle needed, I direct my swift-winged bird" (l. 287). How is this detail--he doesn't elaborate on it--relevant to an important theme of the play? What hint does it provide about his initial attitude toward Prometheus's situation?
Oceanos refers to his kinship with Prometheus. According to Hesiod's Theogony, what is their relationship?
What does Oceanos offer Prometheus? How is it received by Prometheus? As Oceanos leaves, what is the lesson, by his account, he has learned from this visit? How does it reflect on Prometheus's character?
In the following dialogue between Prometheus and the Chorus (lines 437-524), how does Prometheus describe his contributions to humankind? How does this compare with Hesiod's description of P's benefits to mortals?
What is the role of the Fates and Furies? What is their authority with respect to Zeus? What is their age with respect to him?
What does Io learn from Prometheus? What coincidence connects Io and Prometheus? 50 Egyptian maidens will come unwillingly to Greece (Argos, the 'Pelasgian earth') and take foreign husbands, whom they will murder on their wedding night, except for one. Why doesn't she take her husband's life? How does this relate to the larger themes of the play? 'A man renowned for archery' (871) refers to Heracles (Latin 'Hercules').
What is Hermes's purpose in coming to Prometheus? What is Prometheus's response to him? What role do the daughters of Oceanos play in this exchange between Hermes and Prometheus? Where do their loyalties lie? Dramatically speaking, how does their support of Prometheus balance the tension in this closing scene?
Prometheus's last words reveal that the cataclysms promised by Zeus are coming to pass. What does Zeus's attention to Prometheus reveal about the character and stature of Prometheus? At the opening of the play Prometheus entered in silence. How does that image contrast with this one? Despite his remoteness from civilization he is visited by two gods and a mortal, in addition to the chorus (daughters of Ocean): Ocean himself, Io, and Hermes. What does this suggest about his importance?
The Prometheus Bound in the Prometheus Trilogy
For the dramatic festivals in Athens, playwrights competed with a trilogy of plays, and closed with a light satyr play. The Prometheus Bound was the first of the three in its trilogy. We know of a second play named Prometheus Unbound, and the last, perhaps named Prometheus the Fire-Bearer. The second play would have dealt with the release of Prometheus, by Heracles, and the last would have seen the establishment of the cult of Prometheus in Athens. In this perspective, the harshness and even worsening of Prometheus's condition in the Prometheus Bound is reversed by the story's development in the two later plays. Fragments surviving from the second play reveal a softening of Zeus's character, who pardons the Titans. The same fragments also suggest the end of Prometheus's obstinacy.