The Ancient Greek Gods in Drama

The myth of Prometheus bound by Aeschylus to some extent depicts the characters of Prometheus and Zeus in a typical way compared to Hesiod’s theogony. The portrayal of Prometheus in this extract displays to some extent a “typical” attitude in comparison with the Prometheus bound myth which was written by Aeschylus. The Prometheus we see in Prometheus bound is one of great compassion and generosity to the mortal humans. This is shown when Prometheus says “my great love for mankind” which displays Prometheus in a very philanthropic way. This is similar to the attitude of Prometheus that we see in Hesiod’s Theogony because he shows that he cares for the humans by acquiring the best portion of the sacrificial feast for them. However to some extent the attitude displayed towards Prometheus in the is passage is not typical because in Prometheus bound the chorus say “Over my eyes a mist of tears and fear spread” which shows that there is great sympathy for Prometheus. However this is not the attitude we see displayed towards Prometheus in Hesiod’s Theogony. Instead we see great hatred and anger from Zeus towards Prometheus. 

The character of Zeus that is portrayed in Prometheus bound is mainly a negative one. This is shown firstly when the god Hephaestus says “for the heart of Zeus is hard” which presents Zeus in a harsh form with no love or compassion for the people that betray him. The second negative example is when the chorus say that “Zeus governs with lawless customs”. This shows Zeus as a tyrannical and unjust leader. These points show similarities to the character of Zeus that is described in the extract from Hesiod’s Theogony. However Zeus is also portrayed in a positive way in Aeschylus’ Prometheus bound myth when Hermes says how great Zeus is as a law maker and that Prometheus is at fault.

This inconsistent attitude shown town towards Zeus is also shown in another play by Aeschylus, the play of the Suppliants. This play almost shows a complete contradiction of the character of Zeus. There are many scholarly opinions given when determining the reasons for this change in attitude shown towards Zeus. One of which is the opinion of H. W. Smyth whose explanation was called the “Evolutionary Theory”. He argued that “As Prometheus had been softened in course of time, so a change has come upon his antagonist who is under bonds to Fate. Right has been added to might. Mercy and equity temper the omnipotence of Zeus...” The problem with this is that there is no textual evidence that Zeus learns mercy, equity and justice. However I am more inclined to agree with the one of many explanations given by Gilbert Murray to the reason for this contrast in the portrayal of Zeus. Murray argues that the actions of Zeus are “inscrutable by our mortal minds and therefore unjudgeable.” This observation seems more appealing to me as it leaves the nature of Zeus as mysterious. This theory also seems more convincing due to the difference in a mortals understanding of behaviour and an omniscient and divine character like Zeus’ actions.