ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, we explored the cult of Prometheus in Athens, suggesting that the mythic figure of Prometheus helped fifth-century Athenians think about fire – its beneficial and its destructive potential. In this chapter, we will focus on three literary texts from the classical period. Aeschylus’ tragedy Prometheus Bound and Plato’s philosophical dialogue Protagoras show how Prometheus operates in the fifth and fourth centuries as a revolutionary figure on both the political and intellectual stages. Aeschylus’ tragic drama Prometheus Bound looks to Prometheus, the god who gave fire and hope to mankind, to celebrate the prosperity and power of fifth-century Athens. No longer a trickster figure, Aeschylus’ Prometheus adopts the role of a rebel fighting for mankind against the tyranny of Zeus, and his story highlights progress rather than decline as the master narrative of the human condition. Plato’s Socratic dialogue Protagoras looks to the myth of Prometheus to tell a similar story about man’s evolution from an earlier, more bestial state. In Plato’s version, however, Prometheus’ story highlights social and political skills, rather than technological expertise, as the hallmark of the human condition. In conclusion, we will turn to Aristophanes’ comedy The Birds to find a comic Prometheus reprising both his trickster and rebel roles in a more humorous vein. The Aristophanic Prometheus, hiding from Zeus under a parasol, is nevertheless a familiar figure, and the comic success
of his role as rebel against Zeus and defender of mankind helps confirm our reading of his myth in other Greek sources.
