From Mythology to Enlightenment: A Political Tragedy – Promētheús Desmōtēs

Why did Greek mythology and tragedies influence Western philosophy? There are many answers to this question. However, since I have recently been writing about the moral and morally indifferent (not immoral) aspects within Enlightenment philosophy, we cannot avoid mentioning the sufferings of Prometheus, the savior of humanity.

From Mythology to Political Tragedy

Ancient Greek theater produced three great tragedians: Aiskhylos (525–456 BCE), Sophokles (497–406 BCE), and Euripides (480–406 BCE).

Ancient sources state that Aiskhylos wrote about 70–90 tragedies. The Suda Encyclopedia, written in Byzantium in the 10th century, and ancient catalogues generally give a number close to 90. However, only 7 of these works have survived to our day in complete form: The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, and The Suppliants.

The Prometheus tragedy is the first part of a trilogy. Only Prometheus Bound (Promētheús Desmōtēs) has reached us. From ancient references, we learn about the other two works of the trilogy: Prometheus Unbound (Promētheús Lyómenos) and Prometheus the Fire-Bringer (Promētheús Pyrphóros).

In the first of these lost works, Prometheus’ liberation from his chains and reconciliation with Zeus must have been staged, while in the second, the act of bringing fire to humanity must have been depicted. Within the integrity Aiskhylos designed, we understand that Prometheus’ transformation from rebellion to reconciliation, from suffering to becoming a symbol of salvation for humanity, was being presented.

Prometheus Bound is a play attributed to Aiskhylos. Its historical significance in terms of “political theater” is immense.

Prometheus Bound and the Story of Humanity’s Liberation

Revolutions occur in the history of the divine races. In one of these revolutions, Prometheus, the “one who foresees,” also plays a role.

Promētheús (Προμηθεύς) consists of the prefix pro- (προ-) and the root -mētheus (μηθεύς / μῆτις). Pro- (προ-) means to foresee or to think ahead. Mētheus (μηθεύς / μῆτις) means mind, wisdom, cunning, intelligence, foresight. In this case, Promētheús (Προμηθεύς) means “the one who thinks ahead, the foresighted one.”

Prometheus/Josef de Cauwer-Ronsse (Source: https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection/s-189)

Tyrants are overthrown, and the gods reign on Olympus. Zeus sits on his throne as the God of gods. For both the immortal gods and the mortal humans, laws are determined according to Zeus’ whims.

Prometheus feels pity for humankind. In a fennel stalk, he steals fire from the gods and gives it to humanity. Because he sided with mortal humans and rebelled against Zeus, who oppressed both gods and humans, Prometheus is chained to a rock.

Prometheus stands on the side of consciousness and freedom. In Aiskhylos’ verses, he stands with “the oppressed.” Against whom? Against Zeus, who enforces laws arbitrarily with a totalitarian attitude.

The story told by mythology is narrated with these lines from Aiskhylos’ play, in the mouth of Prometheus:

I hunted out and stored in a fennel-stalk the stolen source of fire, a spark that has proved a teacher of every art to mortals and a means to mighty ends.

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Behold me, an ill-fated god, chained—the foe of Zeus—hated of all who enter Zeus’s court, because of my very great love for mankind.

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First of all I gave them understanding of the stars, the rising and the setting, hard to discern.

Then I invented for them number, the chief device of wisdom, and the combining of letters, the mother of memory, and source of all the Muses’ arts.

I first yoked beasts to the collar and made them subject to the yoke, that they might bear the burden of mortals;

and I harnessed horses to the chariot and made them obedient to the rein, a glory to wealth.

And I—it was I who first rigged seafaring vessels with linen wings.

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And the greatest proof of my invention is this: if any man fell ill, there was no defense against the disease, nor healing food, nor drink, nor unguent; but for want of remedies they wasted away, until I showed them how to mix soothing remedies with which they ward off all diseases.

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And beneath the earth I discovered for them what had been hidden there—bronze, iron, silver, and gold—who could assert that he had found them before me? No one, I am sure, unless he chooses to babble idly.

In one brief word, know this: all the arts that mortals have come from Prometheus.

From Prometheus to Nietzsche: The Fire of Enlightenment

Prometheus, who offered humankind the light of fire, teaches science and art. He ignites the fire of the Enlightenment for humanity. In doing so, he also teaches humankind the ways to dominate nature.

In Prometheus’ words, do we not find Immanuel Kant? Is there not Martin Luther, who translated the Bible from Latin into German in order to learn and to understand?

Is there not the liberation of humanity, through the path of reason, finding life in Baruch Spinoza? Are not the roots of the humanist movement of modern times, where humanity is liberated through knowledge and science, present here?

On the other hand, does Prometheus not also present, in Aiskhylos’ verses, the very ground on which the Enlightenment’s control of nature was criticized in the 20th century?

The human awakened by Prometheus has become conscious of his own power and risen against God. The true creator has become man. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe recounts this in his poem Prometheus. After all, he himself was a poet of the Enlightenment.

In the second half of the 19th century, as traditional faith was losing its force, Nietzsche’s proclamation ‘God is dead’ echoed this cultural shift. Like Prometheus’s stolen fire, it marked a turning point: not a call to erase belief altogether, but a recognition that the divine order had lost its binding power over modern humanity. Is not Nietzsche, who described humanity’s liberation from nihilism with the Übermensch, the human who falls, rises, and rebels, present in these verses as well?

Nietzsche, in The Birth of Tragedy (Die Geburt der Tragödie, 1872), interprets the Prometheus myth as a tragic symbol of humanity’s creative power. Prometheus’ chains are the price humanity must pay on the path to knowledge and freedom.

Humanity’s beginning to break free of its chains and create its own values is the modern philosophical counterpart of the rebellion foreseen by Prometheus.

The power of reason is superior to brute force. In the future, domination will belong not to brute force but to reason. The story of Prometheus tells us how regimes that turn their backs on reason and free thought weaken and face the danger of collapse. Zeus, despite all his sacrifices, servants, and flatterers, is in fact as weak and helpless as a child. Zeus is imprisoned in the hands of the very enemy he imprisoned.

Aiskhylos’ Promētheús Desmōtēs (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης) is not merely a mythological narrative but one of the first political theaters of the ancient world. This political dimension has continued to shed light on humanity’s struggle for liberation throughout the ages.