Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

The Historical Necessity of Political Justice in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound 15
The tyrannical nature of Zeus in Prometheus Bound is made even more
apparent if we compare Aeschylus’ version of the Prometheus myth to the one
told by Hesiod in his seminal work the Theogony. Where Prometheus is a just
defender of humanity for Aeschylus, he is a crooked schemer for Hesiod.
According to the canonic interpretation of Hesiod’s Theogony, Prometheus
wrongs Zeus on two accounts. First, he desecrates his altars by fraudulently layng
out sacrifices to the gods; second, after Zeus punishes this desecration by foridding
fire to humanity, Prometheus steals fire from heaven and gives it to
humanty. As punishment for these crimes, Zeus “bound crafty Prometheus in
inescapable fetters, grievous bounds, driving them through the middle of a pillar.
And he set a great winged eagle upon him, and it fed on his immortal liver,
which grew the same amount each way at night as the great bird ate in the
course of the day” (Theo. 520-25). Hence, for Hesiod, Zeus is not a tyrant, as he
acts justly by punishing the “skillful crook” Prometheus for transgressing the
sacred order of the universe (Theo. 545). It is also instructive to note that
Hesiod’s Zeus is omniscient in sharp distinction to the Zeus of Prometheus
Bound who cannot foretell the fated conditions of his own destruction without
the augury of Prometheus. This is significant because Zeus’ omniscience is a
guarantee of divine political justice for Hesiod; for if the crimes of Prometheus’
“labyrinthine mind” do not escape Zeus, we can be certain that an all-knowing
Zeus will punish the wicked and reward the righteous (Theo. 522). As Hesiod
says, “there is no way of deceiving or evading the mind of Zeus, since not even
Iapetos’ son, sly Prometheus, escaped the weight of his wrath, and for all
cleverness a strong fetter holds him in check” (Theo. 21).
However, in Aeschylus’ radical retelling of the Prometheus myth, the just
Zeus of Hesiod is portrayed as a political tyrant. Recall the mythological record
that Zeus comes into power by overthrowing his father Cronus. And in this takeover,
the primitive order of Cronus collapses and a new order is established
under the sovereign authority of Zeus. Recall further that Prometheus is Zeus’
ally in this takeover, 1 because he hopes to create a new political order based on
reason and “cunning,” rather than “brute strength” and “violence” (Prom. 210-
211). However, Prometheus tragically discovers that replacing Zeus for Cronus
just serves to substitute one form of tyranny for another. It becomes clear to Pro-
1 It is interesting to observe that Prometheus is not an ally of Zeus in Hesiod’s account
of the war between Zeus and Cronus. In fact, Hesiod does not appear to make any reference
to Prometheus in connection with this war in either his Theogony or Works and
Days. This raises the interesting questions of whether Aeschylus invented this mythological
account and, if so, why. Additional research would be required to answer the
former question. However, one can respond to the latter question by suggesting that
Aeschylus’ mythological account underscores the “black ingratitude” Zeus exhibits for
Prometheus (Prom. 226). This ingratitude is bitterly ironic because it entails Zeus misusing
the very power that Prometheus helped him to obtain. Moreover, this account
emphasizes the nature of Zeus’ tyrannical will, while creating increased sympathy for the
plight of Prometheus.