Resumo de Prometheus Bound

Like other works of the Classical Age, Prometheus Bound doesn't
begin in the beginning but leaps in medias res (into the middle of
things), just as Prometheus, a defiant demigod, is brought in chains
to be fettered to a desolate mountain crag. For the modern reader - as
opposed to an Aeschylian audience, who would have already been
conversant with the plot - a bit of background is in order.
Prometheus was a god from the old order, the Titans, who had
now all been overthrown by a group of young upstarts, the Olympians -
all, that is, except for Prometheus. Rather than go down in honor, this
half-god Prometheus, in order to avoid further violence, had chosen to
desert over to the Olympian forces. In fact, he was instrumental in
Zeus' ursurpation of the throne from the old Titan king Chronus. In the
new order, Zeus stood as chief god.
Now one of Zeus' first objectives was to destroy the rice of
men, who, until then, had been a primitive, unenlightened and miserable
lot. Zeus' intent was to replace mankind with a new, more noble race,
servile to the gods' every whim.
When the destructive proclamation went out, however,
Prornetheus alone objected to Zeus' heartless proposal. He saw in man a
spark of divine promise that even the gods might envy, and in order to
save the human race, he willingly and courageously committed a crime:
he brought fire down from heaven and taught the mortals how to use it.
Furthermore, he tutored them in practical arts, applied sciences and
philosophy, that he might edify, ennoble and empower them.
Might stood by complaining of Hephaestus' delay, and demanding full punishment:The smithy had no choice but to comply with his orders; and tied
with bonds as strong as adamant, Prometheus was left alone on the
jagged face of the cliff. Before departing, the mighty Kratos hurled
one last taunt at the Titan god, asking how his human friends could
help him now, and chuckling at the foolish Titans who had named him
Prometheus, the Forethinker. It seemed now, Kratos pointed out, that
Prometheus required a higher intelligence to do his thinking for him.
The captive god called upon the wind, the waters, mother earth,
and the sun to look on him and see how gods tortured a god. He bemoaned
his invincible fate, puzzled that he should be punished simply for
loving mankind.
Presently, a chorus of the daughters of Oceanos, Prometheus'
brother, came on the scene. Seeing the tragic yet defiant figure on the
crag, they felt both pity and admiration, and listened as their uncle
described the events that had brought him to his exile. The chorus
stayed to provide comforting music and cheer.
Next, Prometheus received separate visits from three characters - Oceanos himself, lo, and Hermes.
Oceanos begged his brother to allow him at least a word with
Zeus on his behalf, but Prometheus dismissed his offer, calling it a
useless effort and claiming that if Oceanos tried to intervene, he
too would be in danger of punishment for siding with a
rebel.
After he departed, Oceanos' daughters began to recite a
lyrical passage, mourning Prometheus' predicament. As they sang, the
Titan answered their lamentations, revealing a secret, an ancient
prophecy, made known only to him, which stated that one day he would be
freed from bondage and Zeus would be put under siege and defeated.
Though he had no knowledge of how or when it would happen, this
foreknowledge of Zeus' eventual downfall and Prometheus' satisfaction
for having brought to man the arts of letters and numbers, and all
manner of crafts, was what permitted him to endure his present
punishment.
Io, the daughter of Inachus, a river god, was the next to
pass. Zeus had once tried to seduce the lovely Io, but Hera, his
jealous wife, had discovered her husband's intentions and turned poor
Io into a cow, left to wander about the earth, constantly pursued and
tormented by a pestilent gadfly. Io bewailed her unhappy fate.only responded with fresh lamentations on his own misery.
Finally, though, he offered Io some consolation: he revealed, again
through prophetic knowledge, the time and day when she would be
restored to her true form. Io pled for Prometheus to tell her more, but
he would divulge only this: Zeus would one day give her back her
beauty, and she would bear Zeus a son. After three generations had
passed, one of this offspring' s descendants (Hercules) would rise up
and overpower Zeus, and finally free Prometheus from his mountain
isolation.
No sooner did the Titan finish imparting this information, than the gadfly renewed his torment or
poor Io, driving her off in a frenzy.
Now Prometheus had openly denounced Zeus and had predicted his
downfall. This blasphemous invective did not go unheard by the chief
god, who dispatched the messenger Hermes both to rebuke Prometheus and
to inquire after the meaning of his
prophecies.
This third visitor questioned Prometheus concerning the report
that one of Zeus' own descendants would someday usurp him. Exactly who
would bear the child? What would be the child's name? Prometheus, more
bitter than ever, scornfully refused to answer any of these questions.
Rather, in a brilliant and biting exchange, he belittled Hermes as
nothing more than a puppet-slave to Zeus: I'd rather suffer here in
freedom than be a slave to Zeus as you are.
With this, Hermes made off in a huff, quicky retreating from the
revenge he knew would arrive forthwith on the proud captive; and indeed
Prometheus' fate was soon sealed. The enraged Zeus sent a thunderbolt
hurtling down to shatter the cliff, and with blasts of wind, opened an
abyss-dungeon deep within the trembling earth. Thus damned, the Titan
fire-bearer was thrust down to this hellish punishment - until the time
should come for his deliverance.

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