Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek play. It is traditionally attributed to Aeschylus, but is now considered by some scholars to be the work of another hand, perhaps one as late as the 4th century BC. However, it is still normally included in collected editions of Aeschylus. There is evidence that it was the first play in a trilogy, but the other two plays, Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus Pyrphoros, survive only in fragments.

The play is based on the myth of Prometheus, a titan who gave the gift of fire to mortals and was punished by the god Zeus for this. Prometheus (whose name means 'foresight') possessed prophetic knowledge of the person who would one day overthrow Zeus, but refused to divulge this information.

Synopsis

The play is composed almost entirely of speeches and contains little action since its protagonist is chained and immobile throughout. At the beginning, Cratos (power), Bia (violence), and Hephaestus the smithy-god chain Prometheus to a mountain in the Caucasus and then depart. The daughters of Okeanos, who make up the chorus, appear and attempt to comfort Prometheus by conversing with him. Okeanos himself, a friend, arrives and warns Prometheus not to arouse the further wrath of Zeus by boasting of the god's future overthrow. Prometheus is then visited by Io, a maiden whom Zeus pursued, and who has been changed into a cow by Zeus to save her from the wrath of Hera; Prometheus gives her knowledge of her own future, telling her that one of her descendants will release him from his torment. Finally, Hermes the messenger-god is sent down by the angered Zeus to demand that Prometheus tell him who threatens to overthrow him. Prometheus refuses, and Zeus strikes him with a thunderbolt that plunges Prometheus into the abyss.

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