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Prometheus Unbound (Ancient Greek:Προμηθεὺς Λυόμενος,Promētheus Lyomenos) is a fragmentary play in thePrometheia trilogy attributed to the 5th-century BCGreektragedianAeschylus, thought to have followedPrometheus Bound.Prometheus Unbound was probably followed byPrometheus the Fire-Bringer. It is concerned with the torments of the Greek mythological figurePrometheus who defies the gods and proceeds to give fire to humanity (theft of fire), for which he is subjected to eternal punishment and suffering at the hands ofZeus.
The text of theUnbound survives only in eleven fragments preserved by later authors.[1] Nevertheless, these fragments, combined with prophetic statements made in the first play of the trilogy, allow the reconstruction of a broad outline.
A lengthy fragment translated intoLatin by theRoman statesmanCicero indicates that the play would have opened with Prometheus visited by a chorus ofTitans. ThoughZeus had imprisoned them inTartarus after theTitanomachy, he had at long last granted them clemency. This perhaps foreshadows Zeus's eventual reconciliation with Prometheus in the trilogy's third installment. Prometheus complains about his torment just as he had to the chorus ofOceanids inPrometheus Bound. As thedramatis personae ofPrometheus Bound erroneously listsGaea, it has been suggested that she is next to visit Prometheus in this play, in a sympathetic role that echoesOceanus' turn in the first play. Finally, the faultydramatis personae mentioned above and several fragments indicate thatHeracles visits the Titan just asIo had inPrometheus Bound. Heracles kills the eagle that had been torturing Prometheus by eating his regenerating liver every day and frees the Titan.[2] Again mirroring events in the previous play, Prometheus forecasts the travels of Hercules as he concludes hisTwelve Labours. The play thus concludes with Prometheus free from the torments of Zeus, but the Titan and Olympian have yet to reconcile.
It inspired the playof the same title byPercy Bysshe Shelley.
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