Summary of Lord Byron’s “Prometheus”

In ancient Greek Myths, the description of Zeus’ character can range from a heroic leader to that of a vile dictator, depending on the author’s intention. This contrast is especially noteworthy when comparing Hesiod’s Theogony with Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, as Zeus is presented as the world’s protector in the former, while he is portrayed as selfish and ruthless in Aeschylus’ tale.

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as a modern day version of the legend of Prometheus. Prometheus created men out of clay and taught them the "arts of civilisation" (Webster's World Encyclopedia CD-ROM 1999). Zeus, the chief god of the Titans, wanted to destroy Prometheus' creation but Prometheus stole fire from heaven to help mankind. Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock where an eagle would feed on his liver during the day and each night the liver would grow back. Prometheus was able to bargain for his release because he knew a secret which concerned Zeus' future. Heracles shot the eagle and so Prometheus gained release. Victor Frankenstein is Shelley's modern Prometheus in that

One of the more memorable scenes in the poem is in Book 14 where Hera distracts Zeus while Posiedon helps the Achaeans make their attack. She receives a magic sash from Aphrodite that is filled with the powers of love and longing. She also elicits the aid of Sleep to put Zeus into a deep sleep after she distracts him with a sensuous act of lovemaking. She does this because Zeus wants no one to aid the Achaeans. But, Hera always seems to get what she wants. This scene is Hera’s “deception of Zeus and hence her triumph” (Berkert) She succeeds in making the father of the gods forget what

The manner in which Hesiod presents Zeus’s thoughts regarding his interaction with Prometheus help to provide us with a better understanding of Zeus’s characteristics. Lines 530-531 of Theogony, which describe the eventual freedom of Prometheus, stipulate that this came “not without the will of Zeus,” enhancing the efficacy of Zeus’s ultimate power. Hesiod had previously mentioned Zeus’s intelligence, but he delves more deeply into this attribute in examining the conflict at Mekone between Zeus and Prometheus. “Zeus, eternally wise, recognized the fraud and began to rumble in his heart trouble for mortals, and it would be fulfilled.” (Hesiod 552-55). Here, Hesiod’s audience begins to understand Zeus as an extremely wise, but vengeful god, an image which agrees with Homer’s Iliadic Zeus, and all other accounts of the god in ancient Greek literature. Hesiod goes on, however, to extend

In the play, it is revealed that Zeus intended to keep fire away from man. Lines 233-235 say “…but to the unhappy breed of mankind he gave no heed, intending to blot the race out and create a new” (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound lines 233-235). By keeping fire for the Gods, Zeus was planning to let mankind perish, and replace them with a different race of his design. Not wanting to see the downfall of humanity, Prometheus steals fire from Zeus and gifts it to mankind, allowing them to survive. This is an example of binaries between fondness and hatred for mankind. While Zeus may not explicitly hate humans, he is more than willing to allow them to die. Prometheus steals from the Gods in order to sustain life on earth, pitting him against Zeus.

In Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Zeus is portrayed as a brutal and vengeful tyrant. His tyranny is mostly shown through the punishment of Prometheus. Zeus saw Prometheus giving humans fire as betrayal and as revenge, punished Prometheus by pinning him to a rocky mountain in the Caucasus. Instead of carrying out the punishment himself, Zeus had Might, Violence, and Hephaestus (who was also Prometheus’ friend) carry it out instead. As stated in lines 13-18.

At the beginning of the play Prometheus, a Titan, enters escorted by Might and Violence followed by the god of fire Hephaestus. Violence is silent for the entire duration of this scene but Might is very disdainful towards Prometheus and states under Zeus’s command Prometheus is to be chained to a rock in the Caucasus because he disobeyed the will of Zeus and stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humanity. Might is pretty cruel to Prometheus but Hephaestus is reluctant to chain Prometheus to the mountain, retelling to Might and Violence how Prometheus was instrumental in helping Zeus win the war against the Titans. Might urges him on, insisting to Hephaestus that pity for Zeus's enemies is both useless and dangerous. Hephaestus quickly

Prometheus is punished by Zeus for helping mankind; Zeus feels no remorse even though Prometheus helped Zeus and was the deciding factor in the war against the Titans. Zeus makes Hephaestus carry out the punishment on Prometheus because he was a friend of his and the closest to him. Zeus’ tyranny is seen when he does not honor the rules of friendship or understand emotions such as compassion, sympathy, or love. He rules the Gods out of fear and is not understanding. “Morally the play teaches the audience that it is not better to be feared than loved”

Early Romantics drew their inspiration from nature and concentrated individualism, emotional identity, and the basic elements of imagination in their literature. Reflections of the American growth and struggle prevailed through their writing as most Romantics were advocates for human rights. This can be seen in William Cullen Bryant’s 1817 poem “Thanatopsis” as it aided in establishing Romanticism in American literature during the mid-19th century.

At the opening of the play, Strepsiades begins with an invocation to “Zeus the King!” (2). Upon arrival to Socrates’ Thinkery, Strepsiades begs Socrates to teach him how to “win both just and unjust causes by speaking” in order to have his debts forgiven without having to pay them back (98), and swears “by the gods” that he will pay Socrates (246). However, Socrates informs Strepsiades that “Zeus does not even exist”, nor do any other gods (367). Before this, Strepsiades had acknowledged his fear of Zeus’ punishment and the thunderbolt that made him “fear and tremble”, but Strepsiades no

Originating from different sides of an ancient and bloody war, Prometheus and Zeus start from different ends of a spectrum. As a young god, Zeus is thereby a young ruler. His inexperience in ruling is obvious. Zeus had established his reign by violently overthrowing his father in a bloody war and spread his rule through subjugation. By imprisoning Cronus and the Titans in Tartarus and appointing his relatives and children in positions under him, Zeus forcefully raised himself into the position of a supreme ruler. Zeus knows no methods apart from vigorous and powerful ones in order to maintain his authority. In the beginning of the play in which Prometheus is being chained to a rock, “Power” and “Force” act as agents of Zeus and command Hephaestus. Zeus is defined by strength and harshness. They are the characteristics that have exalted him to his high position as a supreme ruler and they are now used to pave his way toward absolute dominance. “He is harsh, as all those new to power are harsh” (Aeschylus 2). Zeus’s cruel methods are noticed and even criticized by those who serve him. However, none oppose him because of the fear Zeus instilled into them. “And all the same I am required to bear it: it’s hard to set aside my father’s words” (Aeschylus 2). Hephaestus shows discontent towards Zeus’s decisions and only shows obedience because he is afraid of Zeus. Though he does not oppose Zeus, he sympathizes with Prometheus as he chains him to a rock. “Aah Prometheus, I’m sorry

He spoke, “Son, we have to hide all our grief in our hearts. The Gods have designs beyond human understanding and the lots they spin for mortals, must suit their desires. Zeus has an urn filled with grief and poverty as well as pleasure and good fortune. With his great wisdom, which is vast, profound and incomprehensible to mortals, He selects from this urn, gifts and tosses them out for mortals to catch. At times and places, some catch bountiful crops, wealth, and longevity while others catch plague, famine and death. Even so, plethora for some may not endure while for others, hardship may turn

A writer’s life and environment often have an effect on an author’s writings. An endless array of subjects influence an author’s writing, such as events in his or her personal life, his or her character, the society during his or her life, and ideas by philosophers, proceeding authors, or his or her contemporaries. As a result, writings can be remarkable literary and historical depictions of the time in which they were written. They can deliver the message of prominent issues during the time, to more simple subjects such as everyday life. The influence that the contemporary world can have on a writer is infinite. This is the case for the English poet, George Gordon Lord Byron, who established his name in British literature through his extensive

One is curious as to the roots of the Romantic poet’s emphasis upon the individual, a shift from the eighteenth century’s literary

In fact “all uses of the Prometheus myth in the nineteenth century derive directly from Aeschylus--the dominant motif in the Romantic era is Prometheus as rebel against the injustices of a Jehovah/Zeus . . . From this metaphysical basis, Prometheus becomes the rebel against all forms of oppression, social, political, religious” (Monaghan). Seen by Shelley in Prometheus Unbound, as the type of the highest perfection of moral and intellectual nature, Prometheus is the archetype of the Romantic Rebel. This rebellious figure would not reconcile with his oppressor of mankind. Demogorgon represented the great force needed to effect perfection. He was given birth to after Zeus/Jupiter’s union with Thetis