COURSES
Introduction
Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragic play that is one of three plays concerning the larger than human figure, Prometheus. Prometheus and Zeus, the main ancient Greek god of the time, argue, and Prometheus is punished to a life bound in chains. This is where the title, Prometheus Bound, is given to the play. Even being bound in chains Prometheus manages to annoy Zeus as he gives to mankind the gift of fire, even though Zeus does not want this to happen.
Prometheus is chained through the whole play but he portrays a strong moral character. Zeus, the god wants to destroy the human race. By Prometheus giving fire to mankind and also stopping Zeus from destroying the human race, mankind is saved but Prometheus is bound in chains forever. This makes for an easy set design as the protagonists is chained in one place throughput the whole play.
Prometheus troubles continue as a visit from a female god like figure who is being courted by Zeus. Zeus’s wife, Hera, is chasing lo to no avail as she is to bear Zeus’s son, Epaphus. Once Epaphus is born the descendants will be able to release Prometheus. It gets further complicated as Hermes enters the picture as a messenger god.
Ralph Waldo Emerson weighed in on this conflict in the “Essays”:
The beautiful fables of the Greeks, being proper creations of the imagination and not of the fancy, are universal verities. What a range of meanings and what perpetual pertinence has the story of Prometheus”
As one of the Titans, Prometheus was one of the original races of the gods which sprung from the earth and the sky and the moon at first he sided with Zeus. However when Metis (Wisdom) was loved by Zeus became pregnant with a male child Zeus became jealous. He was afraid that his male son would be greater than Zeus so he swallowed the mother. Athena sprang from Zeus’ head with the help of Prometheus
This brings us to a discussion of the author of this play, the Greek play was written by the third of the great Greek playwrights, Aeschylus. The other two were Sophocles and Euripides . However there was some controversy over its true author. The question of authorship was called the “Zeus Problem”. Zeus was a hero figure in the Agamemnon series and it is not conceivable to many that the same author would then make him a villain in Prometheus Bound. It is possible that Zeus evolves into an evil god only for the play of Prometheus Bound and then becomes a good god again in the works of Hesiod
Purpose:
One of the themes that are prevalent in Prometheus Bound that resonates in the modern times is the oppression and the tyranny that some suffer. In the recent news stories of the beheading of the journalists by the ISIS forces is reminisce of the oppression of a few by a larger and more powerful force. James Foley was a journalist in 2014 and was beheaded because he was a US citizen and President Obama didn’t end the military operations in Iraq . This brutal killing was similar to the treatment of Prometheus by Zeus. Oppression by a tyrant happened from ancient times and does not change much in modern day.
On a much larger scale, the Nazi treatment of the Jewish people was an example of the tyrannical nature of an oppressive leader. Hitler demanded not just a defeat of the Jews but their annihilation. The over use of force is marked by Zeus treatment of Prometheus as it was by Hitler to the Jew.
There are different ways in which people react to an oppressive tyrant. Throughout history we are made aware of this. In the movie Unbroken, one learns of the tremendous power of Louis Zamperini . Louis is portrayed as a person of great strength and resilience. The oppression served to make him stronger. This is similar to the character of Prometheus in the play. He became stronger and wanted to overcome his condition and remained strong and positive. In the end of the play Zeus does reconcile with Prometheus just as in the end of the movie Unbroken, the Japanese counselor and Louis become reconciled.
The character in the play, Hephaestus was not of the same character as he accepted the tyranny and complied with the wishes of Zeus. Hephaestus was the black smith who had to chain Prometheus to the mountain. He did not wish to do this to but caved into the demands of the tyrant of Zeus rather than stay true to his feelings and betrayed his friend in Prometheus. “Yet must I somehow find the strength. For who may flout the rescript and the wrath of Zeus? “. Hephaestus is strong and could perform the task but does not want to. He realizes that the mental strength to disobey Zeus is not his and he caves tot eh demands of Zeus. It leaves the reader wondering if Hephaestus thought the same fate would be his if Zeus could do this to his onetime friend.
Another purpose of the play that is supported in real life in contemporary times is the character of Io who is the weakest of the characters in the play. She is not human but has many characteristics that are similar to humans certain respects. She seems to answer problems or issues with a strange view of the situation. She says things like “where have I come? And “oh horror” . Io is not like Prometheus who stays strong in the face of Zeus, Io cannot stand up to Zeus and runs from him almost to the point of losing her mind. She becomes pensive and afraid to leave her little area. She says to Prometheus, “Oh woe, woe. What shall I do? Why should I go on living? . This is a reaction to fear as many people in today’s world live in fear. They are afraid to travel because of bomb attacks, they are afraid in their homes because of invasions, they are afraid and afraid and choose to live in their homes and not leave it for the most part unless they are sure they are totally safe. Some people felt better when Osama Ben Laden was killed but renewed killings and bombings from ISIS is taken over the fearful.
The social and political contents of this play are well worth taking some time to review. The issues that the ancient Greeks espouse are still a model for people today. And in light of today’s theater goers the opportunity to enjoy the messages in addition to the fine performances of the actors. This play in particular is a challenge for the actors and not the set designers. Since in the play, Prometheus is bound to a mountain in chains. This is the scene that dominated the play area.
Socially, the theater goer can ponder their friendships and how far that they would go to for their friends. Friendships and feeling sorry or empathy in the play results from watching a friend suffer. The dialogue brings out the friendship and pity that Prometheus feels toward his friends in the conversations with his brothers, also Titans, Atlas and Typho. The brothers were imprisoned by Zeus also. As a precaution, Prometheus warns Oceanus to stay away so that he will not be punished by Zeus also.
In the theater the audience feels the strong bonds of friendship and the social relationships as Prometheus feels toward those in his life that he feels are being treated unfairly by Zeus. The moment is compelling as the audience believes that Prometheus is going to help Io escape Zeus’ wrath.
The production of Prometheus Bound that is performed by Ron Cephas, a New York actor , is particularly exhilarating. The forces of good over evil are played out with the set design that is unique to the Greek ancient dramas. The forces in this play lent itself well to the drama of the play. For example, Travis Preston, a new age director uses this opportunity to dramatize overwhelming injustice that man has suffered. Preston, places the dramatic interpretation of the edge of civilization in which the exploration of right versus wrong, tyranny and oppression. In the Toronto performance the music composer, Ellen Reid adds to the unfair relationship of man’s unworthiness according to the eternal order of the cosmos.
In the play the main character, Prometheus is strapped to a wheel for the whole production. The challenge to successfully engage the audience in this type of scenery is fascinating. The spatial and audience configuration of the main character being pinned in this one space creates a unique challenge to the actors and the director. This challenge was accepted and overcome, just as the story of the original Prometheus, according to the reviews of the play performed at the outdoor production in the Getty Villas Theater produced by the CalArts Center for New Performances.
Suffering for art and the art of suffering is the way that the author summed up the performance in Prometheus Bound . A wheel orbiting the rim of a larger one which is made up of a five ton, 23 foot tall, revolving circular steel structure is the main set. This set piece is a combination of a Ferris wheel that is in the carnivals. It is as large a set as the Ferris wheel and as imposing a figure for the audience. The Ferris wheel has a large clock attached form the classic silent file comedy the “Safety Last” so the local audience e is familiar with the recycled set design elements.
Theater goers and actors were asked their opinion of this rather unusual set design and remarks like “I’ve never seen any performance where you have an actor pinned to a wheel for the whole production” said New York Actor Ron Cephas Jones . Jones is 56 years old so the physical challenges of remaining on the wheel for most of the performance is physically challenging. He has had to think of himself as the idea of Jesus on the Cross and fighting against the established Roman guards with Pontius Pilate.
The positioning of the actor playing Prometheus on the wheel gives a sense of height to the performer. For the audience he is higher and can make contact with a new group of theater goers in seats that don’t normally offer that perspective. In purchasing tickets for this performance, theater patrons should review the type of chain restraint or wheel that is going to be a part of the set and then purchase the seats accordingly.
Not every theater though is equipped for this production. The wheel used in this production worked because it was set as part of an outdoor amphitheater. The clock even pointed to midnight and the morning as the play progressed. Being that the Santa Monica has an open air theater the oversized prop works well. In an enclosed indoor theater the effect will be slightly different. The structure under the night sky has to add to the ambience of the play though.
This play has so much to offer to the theater goers in terms of not only the immense scale of acting as the Prometheus character has to give but also to the themes that run through the play. e. The composition of the stage and the audience reaction to it helps to synthesize the theme of oppression over the oppressed. The sense of right and wrong are felt in so many of the characters in which the richness of the dialogue gives the audience a sense of the wrong that a tyrant can inflict. In the initial overview of the play a thought went to Zeus as the leading character and as a god was expected to be benevolent. However, as the leader’s ability to control the subjects and remain supreme, Zeus finds that his society is not a place for benevolent leadership and chooses to take care of himself first and foremost. Zeus as the head god has the power to punish Prometheus and everyone else. Prometheus though did help Zeus to overthrow the other Titans and for this Prometheus expected some consideration from Zeus. However Zeus is punished and forced to suffer unjustly by defying the god and giving fire to mankind. This paly of good versus evil performs particularly well as the community understands that doing the right thing is not always the easy route and that there are consequences to all actions . Reciprocity though is shown in the character of Prometheus in that at times he reacts as Zeus.
f. One of these concepts that the audience can pick up on is the stubbornness of Zeus and Prometheus “Don’t cast my stubbornness up to me, truly someday, even though Zeus thoughts are stubborn, will he be humble” Hermes says to Prometheus. . So even though the people understand that Zeus is the god Prometheus is not perfect hero either. The audience can see a bit of reciprocity or an understanding of the temperament of Zeus in punishing Prometheus.
g. This play would be very worthwhile to produce today. The prevalence of the Shakespeare in the Park movements has indicated that the audiences are acceptable to viewing performances in the outdoor theater and this performance has seen success in that type of venue. The setup of some of the outdoor theaters is amenable to the set of Prometheus Bound, for example the new set design of the SDP stage would accomplish this venue . In this set there are three different designs to accommodate several Shakespeare plays and those would fit he needs of the ancient Greek plays also. The Globe Theater which housed Shakespeare’s first plays in England was a similar structure with a three levels in inward facing galleries. Greek plays were also performed there and theater goers felt closeness to the actors and the power of the gods in stage arrangements such as this .
Because of the strong messages in the play and the rather different scenery this play would be successful if it were produced in other areas. Santa Monica was a current venue and the play did very well there. The casting of the actors would be a consideration as finding another Ron Jones might be a difficult task especially in talent deficient local theater groups. However it might be surprising to uncover some performers who like the strong presences of the figure of Prometheus and with some training could stand the physical rigors of the performance.
Casting is one consideration and the proper theater would be another consideration before committing to performing this play in the current situation of theater goers. The proper theater house is important as theater goers spend limited entertainment dollars to support the arts. In order to offer the best atmosphere for the performance todays open outdoor theaters would provide a good choice for the performance.
Conclusion
The study of Prometheus Bound leads to the conclusion that it is a struggle between two opposing forces of power. Zeus is a god and as such has control over the other gods and they fear him. The fear is so great that the only one who speaks at all is Prometheus because he feels that Zeus has a kinship relationship with Prometheus due to the aid Prometheus gave him in getting rid of the other Titans. Zeus returns the loyalty by showing just how tyrannical he can be and punishes Prometheus for the kindness to the humans. Zeus held the final power card over Prometheus.
Prometheus on the other hand, has power also. Prometheus can tell the future and waits for the day that he is freed. He has no reason to fear Zeus as he knows what happens to Zeus in the future. So the controversy continues and the play still has theater goers and readers pondering the effects of power and tyranny.
The ability of the audience to relate to the struggles that are currently in their own lifetime of oppression and tyranny keep the question of the balance of power in their minds. As the audience either reads or sees the struggle of Prometheus they might ponder their own power to overcome a situation that might render others powerless. Prometheus gives hope to those who decide to be made stronger in their personal struggles against a tyrant. As the play shows some characters are not inwardly strong to oppose a tyrant but Prometheus uses his other strengths to compensate for the punishment that is pronounced over him and to this end is rewarded.
References
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