Content: We have already met the titan Prometheus, the benefactor of humanity, in Hesiod’s poem “Theogony”. There he is a clever cunning man who arranges the division of sacrificial bull meat between people and gods so that best part went to people's food. And then, when the angry Zeus does not want people to be able to boil and fry the meat they have received, and refuses to give them fire, Prometheus steals this fire secretly and brings it to people in a hollow reed. For this, Zeus chains Prometheus to a pillar in the east of the earth and sends an eagle to peck out his liver. Only after many centuries will the hero Hercules kill this eagle and free Prometheus.
Then they began to tell this myth differently. Prometheus became more majestic and sublime: he is not a cunning and thief, but a wise seer. (The very name “Prometheus” means “Provider.”) At the beginning of the world, when the elder gods, the Titans, fought with the younger gods, the Olympians, he knew that the Olympians could not be taken by force, and offered to help the Titans with cunning; but they, arrogantly relying on their strength, refused, and then Prometheus, seeing their doom, went over to the side of the Olympians and helped them win. Therefore, Zeus’s reprisal against his ex-friend and the ally began to seem even more cruel.
Not only that, Prometheus also revealed what will happen at the end of the world. The Olympians are afraid that just as they overthrew their Titan fathers, so they will someday be overthrown by new gods, their descendants. They don't know how to prevent this. Prometheus knows; then Zeus torments Prometheus in order to find out this secret from him. But Prometheus is proudly silent. Only when Zeus' son Hercules - not yet a god, but only a hard-working hero - in gratitude for all the good that Prometheus did to people, kills the tormenting eagle and eases Prometheus's torment, then Prometheus, in gratitude, reveals the secret of how to save the power of Zeus and all the Olympians. There is a sea goddess, the beautiful Thetis, and Zeus seeks her love. Let him not do this: it is destined by fate that Thetis will give birth to a son stronger than his father. If this is the son of Zeus, then he will become stronger than Zeus and overthrow him: the power of the Olympians will come to an end. And Zeus gives up the thought of Thetis, and in gratitude frees Prometheus from execution and accepts him to Olympus. Thetis was married to a mortal man, and from this marriage she gave birth to the hero Achilles, who was truly stronger not only than his father, but also all people in the world.
It was from this story that the poet Aeschylus made his tragedy about Prometheus.
The action takes place on the edge of the earth, in distant Scythia, among the wild mountains - maybe this is the Caucasus. Two demons, Power and Violence, introduce Prometheus onto the stage; the fire god Hephaestus must chain him to a mountain rock. Hephaestus feels sorry for his comrade, but he must obey fate and the will of Zeus: “You were sympathetic to people beyond measure.” Prometheus's arms, shoulders, and legs are shackled, and an iron wedge is driven into his chest. Prometheus is silent. The job is done, the executioners leave, the authorities say contemptuously: “You are a Provider, here are the providences of how to save yourself!”
Only when left alone does Prometheus begin to speak. He turns to the sky and the sun, the earth and the sea: “Look what I, God, suffer from God’s hands!” And all this for the fact that he stole fire for people and opened the way for them to a life worthy of a person.
A chorus of nymphs appears - Oceanids. These are the daughters of Ocean, another titan, they heard the roar and clang of Promethean shackles in their distant seas. “Oh, it would be better for me to languish in Tartarus than to writhe here in front of everyone! - exclaims Prometheus. “But this is not forever: Zeus will not achieve anything from me by force and will come to ask me about his secret humbly and affectionately.” - “Why is he executing you?” - “For mercy towards people, for he himself is merciless.” Behind the Oceanids comes their father Ocean: he once fought against the Olympians along with the rest of the Titans, but he humbled himself, submitted, was forgiven and is peacefully splashing around all corners of the world. Let Prometheus also humble himself, otherwise he will not escape even worse punishment: Zeus is vengeful! Prometheus contemptuously rejects his advice: “Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself:
lest Zeus punish you yourself for sympathizing with the criminal! “The ocean leaves, the Oceanids sing a compassionate song, remembering in it Prometheus’ brother Atlas, who is also tormented at the western end of the world, supporting the copper firmament with his shoulders.
Prometheus tells the chorus how much good he has done for people. They were foolish, like children - he gave them intelligence and speech. They were languishing with worries - he inspired them with hope. They lived in caves, afraid of every night and every winter - he forced them to build houses against the cold, explained the movement of the heavenly bodies in the changing seasons, taught them writing and counting in order to pass on knowledge to their descendants. It was he who pointed out for them the ores underground, harnessed the oxen to the plow for them, made carts for earthly roads and ships for sea routes. They were dying of disease - he discovered healing herbs for them. They did not understand the prophetic signs of the gods and nature - he taught them to guess by bird cries, and by sacrificial fire, and by the entrails of sacrificial animals. “Truly you were a savior for people,” says the chorus, “how come you didn’t save yourself?” “Fate is stronger than me,” Prometheus answers. “And stronger than Zeus?” - “And stronger than Zeus.” - “What fate is destined for Zeus?” - “Don’t ask: this is my great secret.” The choir sings a mournful song.
The future suddenly bursts into these memories of the past. Zeus’s beloved Princess Io, transformed into a cow, runs onto the stage. (At the theater it was an actor in a horned mask.) Zeus turned her into a cow to hide her from the jealousy of his wife, the goddess Hera. Hera guessed this and demanded a cow as a gift, and then sent a terrible gadfly to her, who drove the unfortunate woman all over the world. So she ended up, exhausted by pain to the point of madness, at the Promethean Mountains. Titan, “the protector and intercessor of man,” takes pity on her;
he tells her what further wanderings await her across Europe and Asia, through heat and cold, among savages and monsters, until she reaches Egypt. And in Egypt she will give birth to a son from Zeus, and the descendant of this son in the twelfth generation will be Hercules, an archer who will come here to save Prometheus - even against the will of Zeus. “What if Zeus doesn’t allow it?” - “Then Zeus will die.” - “Who will destroy him?” - “Himself, having conceived an unreasonable marriage.” - "Which?" - “I won’t say a word more.” Here the conversation ends: Io again feels the sting of the gadfly, again falls into madness and rushes away in despair. The Oceanid Choir sings: “Let the lust of the gods blow us away: their love is terrible and dangerous.”
It is said about the past, it is said about the future; Now the terrible present is coming. Here comes the servant and messenger of Zeus - the god Hermes. Prometheus despises him as a hanger-on for the Olympian masters. “What did you say about the fate of Zeus, about the unreasonable marriage, about the impending death? Confess, otherwise you will suffer bitterly!” - “It is better to suffer than to serve as a servant, like you; and I am immortal, I saw the fall of Uranus, the fall of Cronus, I will also see the fall of Zeus.” - “Beware: you will be in underground Tartarus, where the Titans are tormented, and then you will stand here with a wound in your side, and an eagle will peck at your liver.” - “I knew all this in advance; let the gods rage, I hate them! Hermes disappears - and indeed Prometheus exclaims: “The earth really trembled all around, / And lightning curled, and thunder roared... / O Heaven, O holy mother, Earth, / Look: I suffer innocently!” This is the end of the tragedy.
This tragedy was included in the tetralogy along with the tragedies “Prometheus the Liberated”, “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” and some other satyr drama unknown to us. Among scientists there is an opinion that the tragedy “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer” occupied the first place in the tetralogy. At the end of the trilogy (tetralogy) is the reconciliation of Zeus and Prometheus.
Conflict: Fate human race. The main content of this tragedy is, therefore, the clash of the power of the tyrant, the bearer of which is represented by Zeus himself, with the fighter and sufferer for the salvation and good of humanity - Prometheus.
Images of tragedy:
1) Prometheus: Main qualities: courage, perseverance, love of freedom, strong will, humanism, self-sacrifice. Aeschylus gave the image of Prometheus a completely new meaning. He has Prometheus - the son of Themis-Earth, one of the Titans. When Zeus reigned over the gods, the titans rebelled against him, but Prometheus helped him. When the gods decided to destroy the human race, Prometheus saved people by bringing them fire stolen from the heavenly altar. By this he incurred the wrath of Zeus. Aeschylus achieves even greater power in the form of Prometheus. This can best be seen by comparing the image of tragedy with its mythological prototype, for example, in the poems of Hesiod, where he is presented as simply a cunning deceiver. In Aeschylus, this is a titan who saved the human race by stealing fire from the gods for people, although he knew that for this he would suffer cruel punishment; he taught them public life, giving the opportunity to gather at a common, state hearth; he invented and created various sciences; he is a brave fighter for truth, alien to compromise and protesting against all violence and despotism; he is a God-fighter, hating all gods, an innovator, looking for new ways; in the name of his lofty idea, he is ready to accept the most cruel execution and with full consciousness carries out his great work. Not a thought primitive man, and the high consciousness of people in the 5th century. could bear such an image. This is how the genius of Aeschylus created him, and we now call people of this type titans. The image of Prometheus is as he will be for centuries: noble, sufferer. Appeared here. metaphor "fire of knowledge".
2) Zeus: The ruler of the gods in Prometheus Bound is given the features of the Greek “tyrant”: he is ungrateful, cruel and vindictive.
3) Oceanids are weak, but empathize with Prometheus
4) Io is weak, pathetic, another victim of Zeus.
5) Hephaestus is one of those humble “slaves of Zeus”, arrogant, impudent. Aeschylus depicts the baseness and servility of the gods who humbled themselves before Zeus and the love of freedom of Prometheus, who prefers his torment to servile service with Zeus, despite all persuasion and threats
6) Hermes - shows his feelings for his friend, the author depicts his doubts, bitterness and pain, but he cannot resist the will of Zeus.
There is reason to believe that it is only part of Aeschylus’s extensive plan and is included in the tetralogy, i.e. cycle of four dramatic works. In addition to the named tragedy, the tetralogy also included “Prometheus Unbound” and “Prometheus the Fire-Bearer,” as well as a fourth work, the name of which is unknown. The plot of "Prometheus Bound" is based on ancient myth about the titan Prometheus, the benefactor of humanity, who provided invaluable services to people, and about his confrontation with the all-powerful Zeus.
Aeschylus believes in divine justice, he believes in the justice of Zeus. The nature of his justice remains mysterious to the poet. He writes in a tragedy earlier than Prometheus:
It is not easy to guess what Zeus is up to.
Suddenly we see him everywhere
Blazing brightly in the dark of the deaf...
The paths of all divine thought
They go to their goal through the thick shadows
And dark thickets, inaccessible to mortal sight.
Prometheus is a god imbued with kindness towards people. He was very popular in Attica, where he remained with Hephaestus, the patron of small artisans, and especially potters from the suburb of Ceramics, which partly made up the wealth of Athens. Prometheus not only obtained fire for people, but he invented crafts and art for them. In honor of this god, highly revered in Athens, the city annually organized a festival, during which a torch relay race was held.
However, Zeus punishes this “benefactor of humanity,” the god “Friend of Men” for the good he has done to people. Zeus orders Hephaestus to put him in chains, but since this god is too sympathetic to Prometheus, Zeus orders his two servants, Power and Violence, to ensure that the order is carried out, whose cynical language fully corresponds to their repulsive appearance. Titan is chained to a rock, somewhere in the steppes of Scythia, far from inhabited lands, and must remain there until he recognizes the “tyranny of Zeus.” The tragedy begins with this stunning scene. Prometheus does not utter a single word in front of his executioners.
Aeschylus knows that by “stealing fire” - the property of the gods, Prometheus committed a serious offense. But this offense led to the benefit of people, easing their hard lot. This myth fills Aeschylus with tragic melancholy. His faith in the just Zeus is threatened - in Zeus, the ruler and beginning of the world order.
The friend of Men (“Philanthropist,” as Aeschylus writes, who coined this word, the novelty of which expresses all of Prometheus’s love for humanity) is left alone in the desert, where he will never again hear a “human voice” or see a “human face.”
Rejected by the gods, inaccessible to people, he is in the womb of his mother - nature. His mother's name is both Earth and Justice. It is to this nature, in which the Greeks always guessed the hidden presence of powerful life, that Prometheus turns in sparkling lyrical stanzas of indescribable poetic power. He says:
O you, divine Ether, and you,
O swift-winged winds and rivers,
And the laughter of countless sea waves,
All-mother earth, the all-seeing circle of the sun,
I call you all as witnesses: look,
What now, God, do I endure from the gods!
At this moment music is heard: nature answers the call of Prometheus. It’s as if the sky itself begins to sing. Titan sees the chorus of the twelve daughters of Ocean approaching him through the air. From the depths of the sea they heard the complaint of Prometheus and came to share his suffering. A dialogue begins between compassion and rage. The oceanids brought with them tears and timid advice to obey the law of the stronger. Prometheus refuses to submit to injustice. He reveals other injustices of the ruler of the world. Zeus, whom the titan helped in the struggle for mastery of the heavenly throne, showed only ingratitude towards him. In relation to mortals Zeus
He decided to destroy
The whole human race and a new one to plant
and only the Friend of Men prevented him from doing this. “It was Prometheus’s love for people that was the reason for his punishment. Prometheus knew about this in advance; and knowing what awaited him, he still committed his offense, foreseeing all the consequences and being ready to bear punishment in advance.”
A.F. Losev writes about it this way: “Prometheus is a superman, an unyielding personality, standing above all hesitations and contradictions, not going to any compromise or example. What happens, Prometheus regards as the will of fate (which he does not talk about less than six times in the tragedy)".
"We must easily
To endure your lot, knowing firmly,
That power is invincible, inevitability."
While the execution is carried out, Prometheus maintains a stoic silence. And only when his torturers leave does he give vent to his feelings:
I see no end to the torment.
The murmur is in vain! Everything that has to be demolished
I know it well. Unexpected
There will be no pain. With the greatest ease
I must accept my lot. After all, I know
What's not stronger than strength than omnipotent rock.
And neither remain silent nor talk about fate
I can't have my own. I'm languishing in the yoke of trouble
Because he showed honor to people.
Prometheus lists the benefits he performed towards people. Before us passes, as it were, the history of humanity, its spiritual and intellectual growth, its development material culture. Addressing the chorus, Prometheus says:
You better listen
About the troubles of people. Intelligence and cunning
I dared to awaken the stupidity in them.
To the shadows of dreams
People were like this throughout their long life
Without understanding anything. They didn’t build solar
Houses made of stone, they didn’t know how to carpenter,
And in the dungeons they scurried about like ants.
They lived without light, in the depths of caves.
The faithful did not know the signs that winter was coming,
Or spring with flowers, or abundant
The fruits of summer - there was no understanding
They have nothing until I rise the stars
And the hidden path of sunsets did not tell them. P
the wisdom of numbers, the most important of the sciences,
I also invented the addition of letters for people,
The essence of all arts, the basis of all memory.
I was the first to train animals to the yoke,
And to the collar, and to the pack, to deliver
They are people from the most grueling
Works. And horses, obedient to the reins.
The beauty and shine of wealth, I harnessed to the carts,
None other than me with flaxen wings
He equipped the ships and boldly drove them across the seas.
That's how many tricks for earthly people
I came up with the idea, poor fellow. I wish I could think of
How to save yourself from this suffering.
Prometheus also turned out to be a skilled healer, a manufacturer of medicines for diseases, “painkiller mixtures”, an interpreter of signs, a discoverer of wealth hidden in the underground depths: gold, iron, copper.
Here he is no longer only the thief of fire, as he is represented in the primary myth inherited by the poet, but also the brilliant creator of the emerging civilization, he merges with the genius of man who invents sciences and arts and extends his power over the world. The conflict between Zeus and Prometheus takes on a new meaning: it means the struggle of man against the forces of nature that threatened him with destruction.
Aeschylus shares Prometheus’s pride in the fact that he discovered them to a man who did not know the laws of nature and made them accessible to his understanding and reason. He is proud that he belongs to the mortal race and conveys this feeling to us through poetry.
In this tragedy, Aeschylus managed to introduce a dramatic element: he endowed Prometheus with a weapon against Zeus. This weapon is a secret that he learned from his mother and which has to do with the safety of the ruler of the world. Prometheus will reveal his secret only if he is promised liberation. Will he reveal it or not? Will Zeus force him to do this or not? This is the beginning of the dramatic action. Since the Almighty cannot be shown on stage, which would diminish his greatness, his combat with Prometheus is carried out in the heavenly expanses. In the heights of the heavens, Zeus hears Prometheus' threats to his power: he begins to tremble. The threats are becoming more specific. Prometheus deliberately utters a few words that reveal the secret. Will Zeus resort to his thunder? Throughout the entire drama we feel his presence. In addition, they pass by the Prometheus rock different characters those connected with Zeus by bonds of friendship, hatred or subservience to him; this procession, opening with Power and Violence, gives us the opportunity to get to know Zeus even better in all his cunning and cruelty.
The tyranny of Zeus, who decided to “destroy the entire human race and plant a new one,” is manifested in the episode with Io. This is one of those creatures that visit Prometheus. Io was a priestess of Hera. Unhappy, she was seduced by Zeus, the “formidable lover.” Hera caught them, but Zeus, in order to avoid a scandal, turned Io into a white cow with a wave of his hand. He essentially abandoned Io. Hera sent a horsefly to the cow, which constantly stings Io, forcing her to wander around the world, finding no peace. Prometheus predicts Io “a future sea of inescapable torment,” and she departs lamenting.
“But the power of Zeus has a limit. Above Zeus are the Moirai, personifying Fate, even the gods are subordinate to them. “What is destined, Zeus will not escape it,” says Prometheus. The Titan makes it clear that he knows the future of Zeus. He planned to enter into new marriage, but his wife “will deprive him of the heavenly throne.” “He is threatened with torment,” heavier than his, Promethean’s. “He will not rule over the gods for long,” the titan is convinced.”
Openly threatening with his weapon - the secret that he possesses, Prometheus addresses Zeus directly and challenges him through cosmic space:
Zeus will humble himself, although he is proud at heart.
He planned to get married, but his wife
Will deprive him of the heavenly throne;
Then the Crown Curse will be fulfilled,
Who, having fallen from the ancient throne,
He threatened... How to avoid disasters
None of the gods can say.
I know how. So let him sit arrogantly,
Hoping for heavenly thunder
And shaking a fiery arrow.
No, lightning won't help him,
And he will fall into an inglorious fall.
This is what he cooks for himself
The invincible fighter who
He will find a fire that strikes better than lightning,
And the thunder is stronger than the heavenly thunders of Zeus.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And Zeus will tremble and know
That being a slave is not the same as being a master.
However, Prometheus did not completely reveal his secret here. He did not announce the name of the woman whom it was dangerous for Zeus to seduce.
And yet, hearing the word of Prometheus, Zeus is alarmed. He sends Hermes with an offer to reveal a secret to him in exchange for freeing the chained titan. The conversation between Prometheus and Hermes is one of climax episodes tragedy. Zeus's servant Hermes tries in every possible way to persuade Prometheus to reconcile. He alternates threats with promises. But he invariably runs into the inflexibility of Prometheus:
So will I really
To be afraid of new gods, to tremble, to be timid?
No matter how it is! Dear on which you
You came here, come back quickly:
I will not answer any of your questions.
In vain does Hermes admonish Prometheus to bow before Zeus, to renounce “madness,” to “take a reasonable, sober look at his misfortune,” and to exchange the discovery of a secret for freedom. But nothing shakes the inflexibility of Prometheus, who exclaims with pride:
“They still can’t kill me.”
Then Hermes announces to him the decision of Zeus. Prometheus proudly awaits the approaching catastrophe, which should consume him along with the entire universe.
Then the world begins to waver, and Prometheus answers:
Already in deeds, not in words,
The earth shook
And the muffled blows of thunder thunder,
And fiery lightning twists shine,
And whirlwinds swirl the rising ashes.
The winds rush in a frantic dance
Towards each other: colliding, making noise
And they celebrate a wild and furious rebellion,
Heaven and earth mixed into one...
And he sent this whole storm towards me
Angry Zeus, to frighten me!
Oh my holy mother! O Ether,
Spreading your light everywhere, look,
How I suffer in vain!
The playwright's final remark: "Lightning strike. Prometheus falls through the ground" - puts the final point in this dramatic situation. The hero is cast into the bowels of the earth, but is not defeated morally.
Prometheus, as a seer, knew from the very beginning that his struggle was doomed:
“he foresaw everything in advance”... But despite this, he still committed his act, foreseeing all the consequences and being ready to bear punishment in advance. Aeschylus shows that the spirit of a hero cannot be broken by anything, not by any suffering or threats, if he is armed with deep ideology and an iron will.
A.F. Losev in his book " Ancient literature" wrote: "The image of Prometheus represents that classical harmony of fate and heroic will, which is generally a huge and valuable achievement of the Greek genius: fate predetermines everything, but this does not necessarily lead to powerlessness, lack of will, insignificance; it can also lead to freedom, to great feats, powerful heroism. In such cases, fate not only does not contradict the heroic will, but, on the contrary, justifies and elevates it. This is Homer’s Achilles, Aeschylus’s Eteocles, but even more so is Prometheus.”
The historical basis for such a tragedy could only be the evolution of society, the transition from the primitive state of man to civilization. The tragedy wants to convince the reader and viewer, first of all, of the need to fight against all tyranny and despotism in defense of the weak and oppressed person. This struggle, according to Aeschylus, is possible thanks to civilization, and civilization is possible thanks to constant progress.
The ideology of this tragedy differs from other tragedies of Aeschylus in its attitude towards Zeus. A.F. Losev writes: “In other tragedies of Aeschylus we find enthusiastic hymns to Zeus, theological discussions about him and, in any case, unchanging veneration of him. In contrast, Zeus of “Chained Prometheus” is depicted as a tyrant, a cruel despot, a treacherous traitor, not omnipotent , a cunning and a coward. When we begin to delve into the style of "Chained Prometheus", it turns out that this attitude towards Zeus is not just some kind of abstract theory, but is carried out in the most daring, daring and even rebellious form, with revolutionary pathos, with educational conviction and journalistic fervor. This is undoubtedly an educational tragedy, this is an enthusiastic word of praise to the fighter against tyranny.”
Unfortunately, the loss of the remaining parts of the trilogy forever closed the great secret from us; what the Greek tragedian wanted to say with his creation, what way out he indicated, how he resolved the conflict between unlimited aspirations human spirit and mysterious higher power that puts a limit to these aspirations? The famous literary historian of the early 20th century P.S. Kogan, in his book “Essays on the History of Ancient Greek Literature,” writes about it this way: “That the trilogy was not an indictment against the rebellious titan is evident from the fact that in the surviving part of it, Zeus is portrayed as a vengeful and unjust tyrant, and Prometheus as the role of a benefactor of humanity, a friend of truth and a selfless fighter for the rights of people. That, on the other hand, the trilogy was hardly a challenge to higher powers and the world order in the spirit of Byron, one has to conclude, knowing the deeply religious feeling of Aeschylus, the words of prudence and moderation that are constantly heard. from the mouth of the choir, this impartial and truthful reasoner Greek tragedy, indicates that Aeschylus was not an unconditional supporter of the immoderate claims of his hero. In the words of the chorus, the power of the deity is presented as an eternal, unchangeable law. It is possible that in the third part Aeschylus found a way out, which was a reconciliation between the divine will and the rights of a powerful, rebellious personality, between necessity and freedom, ideal and reality. Probably Zeus appeared there in a different light, as evidenced by hints in the surviving tragedy, where Zeus himself is subject to the laws of fate. Probably, Prometheus in the lost part of the trilogy was illuminated differently than in the tragedy known to us."
Based on the analysis of fragments of the tragedy “Prometheus Unbound”, which has not reached us in full, which is the last part of the trilogy, scientists suggest that in this tragedy the reconciliation of Prometheus with Zeus took place. This does not mean that Prometheus bowed to Zeus or refused to protect people; It’s just that each of the opponents realized the meaninglessness of their persistence. Zeus had to make concessions, since the fate of his power was in the hands of Prometheus. As a result of the proposed marriage with Thetis, Zeus will lose power, so the gods decide to marry Thetis to a mortal (they choose Peleus, the future father of Achilles). Thus, “the ruler was convinced from experience of the need to take into account the will of the “weak”, and they, in turn, must understand the expediency of subordinating to reasonable authority. The foundation is built on this democratic system reign, and the idea of a trilogy sounds quite Aeschylean."
We have already met the titan Prometheus, the benefactor of humanity, in Hesiod’s poem “Theogony”. There he is a smart cunning man who arranges the division of sacrificial bull meat between people and gods so that the best part goes to people for food. And then, when the angry Zeus does not want people to be able to boil and fry the meat they have received, and refuses to give them fire, Prometheus steals this fire secretly and brings it to people in a hollow reed. For this, Zeus chains Prometheus to a pillar in the east of the earth and sends an eagle to peck out his liver. Only after many centuries will the hero Hercules kill this eagle and free Prometheus.
Then they began to tell this myth differently. Prometheus became more majestic and sublime: he is not a cunning and thief, but a wise seer. (The very name “Prometheus” means “Provider.”) At the beginning of the world, when the elder gods, the Titans, fought with the younger gods, the Olympians, he knew that the Olympians could not be taken by force, and offered to help the Titans with cunning; but they, arrogantly relying on their strength, refused, and then Prometheus, seeing their doom, went over to the side of the Olympians and helped them win. Therefore, Zeus’s reprisal against his former friend and ally began to seem even more cruel.
Not only that, Prometheus also revealed what will happen at the end of the world. The Olympians are afraid that just as they overthrew their Titan fathers, so they will someday be overthrown by new gods, their descendants. They don't know how to prevent this. Prometheus knows; then Zeus torments Prometheus in order to find out this secret from him. But Prometheus is proudly silent. Only when Zeus's son Hercules - not yet a god, but only a hard-working hero - in gratitude for all the good that Prometheus did to people, kills the tormenting eagle and eases Prometheus's torment, then Prometheus, in gratitude, reveals the secret of how to save the power of Zeus and all the Olympians. There is a sea goddess, the beautiful Thetis, and Zeus seeks her love. Let him not do this: it is destined by fate that Thetis will give birth to a son stronger than his father. If this is the son of Zeus, then he will become stronger than Zeus and overthrow him: the power of the Olympians will come to an end. And Zeus gives up the thought of Thetis, and in gratitude frees Prometheus from execution and accepts him to Olympus. Thetis was married to a mortal man, and from this marriage she gave birth to the hero Achilles, who was truly stronger not only than his father, but also all the people in the world.
It was from this story that the poet Aeschylus made his tragedy about Prometheus.
The action takes place on the edge of the earth, in distant Scythia, among the wild mountains - maybe this is the Caucasus. Two demons, Power and Violence, introduce Prometheus onto the stage; the fire god Hephaestus must chain him to a mountain rock. Hephaestus feels sorry for his comrade, but he must obey fate and the will of Zeus: “You were sympathetic to people beyond measure.” Prometheus's arms, shoulders, and legs are shackled, and an iron wedge is driven into his chest. Prometheus is silent. The job is done, the executioners leave, the authorities say contemptuously: “You are a Provider, here are the providences of how to save yourself!”
Only when left alone does Prometheus begin to speak. He turns to the sky and the sun, the earth and the sea: “Look what I, God, suffer from God’s hands!” And all this for the fact that he stole fire for people and opened the way for them to a life worthy of a person.
A chorus of nymphs appears - Oceanids. These are the daughters of Ocean, another titan, they heard the roar and clang of Promethean shackles in their distant seas. “Oh, it would be better for me to languish in Tartarus than to writhe here in front of everyone! - exclaims Prometheus. “But this is not forever: Zeus will not achieve anything from me by force and will come to ask me for his secret humbly and affectionately.” - “Why is he executing you?” - “For mercy towards people, for he himself is merciless.” Behind the Oceanids comes their father Ocean: he once fought against the Olympians along with the rest of the Titans, but he resigned himself, submitted, was forgiven and is peacefully splashing around all corners of the world. Let Prometheus also humble himself, otherwise he will not escape even worse punishment: Zeus is vengeful! Prometheus contemptuously rejects his advice: “Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself: lest Zeus punish you yourself for sympathizing with a criminal!” The ocean leaves, the Oceanids sing a compassionate song, remembering in it Prometheus’s brother Atlas, who is also suffering at the western end of the world, supporting the copper firmament with his shoulders.
Prometheus tells the chorus how much good he has done for people. They were foolish, like children - he gave them intelligence and speech. They were languishing with worries - he inspired them with hope. They lived in caves, afraid of every night and every winter - he forced them to build houses against the cold, explained the movement of the heavenly bodies in the changing seasons, taught them writing and counting in order to pass on knowledge to their descendants. It was he who pointed out for them the ores underground, harnessed their oxen to the plow, made carts for earthly roads and ships for sea routes. They were dying of disease - he discovered healing herbs for them. They did not understand the prophetic signs of the gods and nature - he taught them to guess by bird cries, and by sacrificial fire, and by the entrails of sacrificial animals. “Truly you were a savior for people,” says the chorus, “how come you didn’t save yourself?” “Fate is stronger than me,” Prometheus answers. “And stronger than Zeus?” - “And stronger than Zeus.” - “What fate is destined for Zeus?” - “Don’t ask: this is my great secret.” The choir sings a mournful song.
The future suddenly bursts into these memories of the past. Zeus’s beloved Princess Io, transformed into a cow, runs onto the stage. (At the theater it was an actor in a horned mask.) Zeus turned her into a cow to hide her from the jealousy of his wife, the goddess Hera. Hera guessed about this and demanded a cow as a gift, and then sent a terrible gadfly to her, who drove the unfortunate woman around the world. So she ended up, exhausted by pain to the point of madness, at the Promethean Mountains. Titan, “the protector and intercessor of man,” takes pity on her;
he tells her what further wanderings await her across Europe and Asia, through heat and cold, among savages and monsters, until she reaches Egypt. And in Egypt she will give birth to a son from Zeus, and the descendant of this son in the twelfth generation will be Hercules, an archer who will come here to save Prometheus - at least against the will of Zeus. “What if Zeus doesn’t allow it?” - “Then Zeus will die.” - “Who will destroy him?” - “Himself, having conceived an unreasonable marriage.” - "Which?" - “I won’t say a word more.” Here the conversation ends: Io again feels the sting of the gadfly, again falls into madness and rushes away in despair. The Oceanid Choir sings: “Let the lust of the gods blow us away: their love is terrible and dangerous.”
It is said about the past, it is said about the future; Now the terrible present is coming. Here comes the servant and messenger of Zeus - the god Hermes. Prometheus despises him as a hanger-on for the Olympian masters. “What did you say about the fate of Zeus, about the unreasonable marriage, about the impending death? Confess, otherwise you will suffer bitterly!” - “It is better to suffer than to serve as a servant, like you; and I am immortal, I saw the fall of Uranus, the fall of Cronus, I will also see the fall of Zeus.” - “Beware: you will be in underground Tartarus, where the Titans are tormented, and then you will stand here with a wound in your side, and an eagle will peck at your liver.” - “I knew all this in advance; let the gods rage, I hate them! Hermes disappears - and indeed Prometheus exclaims: “The earth really trembled all around, / And lightning curled, and thunder roared ... / O Heaven, O holy mother, Earth, / Look: I suffer innocently!” This is the end of the tragedy.
Retold
Homeric question- a set of problems related to the personality of Homer and the authorship attributed to him in ancient Greek. epic poems " Iliad " And " Odyssey "; in more broad meaning- a set of problems concerning the origin and development of the ancient Greek epic, its relationship to historical reality, its linguistic and artistic features.
Paige tried to show that several hundred words that are often found in the Iliad are not attested in the Odyssey, and vice versa. In addition, there are many epic formulas and fixed groups of words that appear in one poem but are not used in another.
A) If in the Iliad the main attention was paid to the exposure of the Achaean and Trojan heroes on the battlefield, then in the Odyssey the emphasis is shifted to the return of the heroes and “home” events.
b) If in the Iliad the action of each hero follows from common interests or is somehow connected with them, then in the Odyssey, in fact, each hero belongs to himself and his actions are mainly based on his own interests. Consequently, the hero's own self in the Iliad is somewhat limited in comparison with the Odyssey.
V) in the Iliad the distance between gods and people, between divine and human affairs is shorter than in the Odyssey. In the Iliad, the gods are directly involved in the affairs of the heroes, and the heroes participate in a war that is directly related to the will of the gods. Behind each of these heroes there is usually a god, often his patron, who controls his actions. In the Odyssey the situation is somewhat different. Here, only one of the central heroes of the Trojan legend participates in the main conflict; the participation of the gods in human affairs is much more limited.
G) The relationships between the heroes of the Odyssey are more diverse, since the heroes themselves are presented in more diverse life contexts. Their interests are connected only with the personal life of the hero and do not have universal significance. Therefore, in their relationships, more errors or errors of an ethical nature appear, made on the personal initiative of the hero, without any intervention of the gods.
Similarities:
1) At the end of both poems, Zeus’s peace-loving plan is realized. In both cases, this is preceded by a meeting of opponents - Achilles and Priam in the Iliad, Odysseus and the relatives of the suitors in the Odyssey. Both poems end with divine reconciliation. If desired, many similar structural coincidences can be identified in both poems.
Artistic features of the Homeric style.
Language:
epic (Homeric) – literary language of the entire epic in ancient literature.
in historical terms - an alloy of various Greek. dialects (individual tribes).
metric size - hexameter:
6 dactylic feet, the last one is usually truncated (two-syllable).
in each foot, except 5, two short syllables can be replaced by a long one - spondee.
in the middle of the verse there is usually censorship, which divides the verse into 2 hemistiches.
the mobility of censorship enhances the metrical diversity of the verse, usually after the 2nd syllable of the 3rd foot, less often - after the 1st 2nd.
1/5 of the poems are formulaic poems (repetitive). In repeated situations (feasts, fights, the beginning of direct speech).
desire for typification:
blond hair – women and boys (Apollo, Menelaus).
dark hair - mature men (Zeus, Odysseus).
constant epithets (fast ships, fleet-footed Achilles).
Style:
constant and deliberate archaization in the narrative,
the past is idealized
there is nothing random (the strongest wins in a fight),
there are no descriptions of nature, it’s just a place of action;
objectivity of the narration - the singer does not analyze, but only reports. Sometimes the author's attitude can be traced: Elena is the culprit of the war.
the speeches of the heroes are traditional, but connected with the appearance of the speaker, often even individualized.
detailed comparisons, the purpose of which is to illuminate the past. In them, the poet compares the real world with the heroic one.
detailed comparisons - independent artistic sketches (comparison of Diomedes with a river --> picture of an autumn flood). But pictures of nature are not yet connected with a person’s mood.
The pace of the story is not constant. Slowing down the tempo - "epic expanse" - to capture the listener's attention
the geometric nature of the verse is similar to the ornamental style in art.
chronological incompatibility - after the battle of Menelaus and Paris.
monumental solemnity (everyone believed).
Composition
PROMETHEUS (Greek - foresight, seer) -
1) the hero of the tragedy of Aeschylus (525-456 BC) “Prometheus Chained” (the year the tragedy was composed and staged is unknown; the authorship of Aeschylus is regarded as hypothetical). IN Greek mythology P. is the son of the titan Nalet and the oceanid Clymene, the cousin of Zeus. Having stolen the fire, P. brings it to the people, for which Zeus orders P. to be chained to the Caucasus mountains so that every day an eagle will devour his liver, which grows during the night. The torture is stopped by Hercules, who kills the eagle. To the myth about P. in ancient times Philosophers, poets, and sculptors approached, offering different incarnations of this hero and various interpretations of him. In Athens there were special festivals - “Prometheans”. P. was glorified as a god who brought people crafts, literacy, and culture, and was condemned (for example, by Hesiod), seeing in him the cause of all the troubles and misfortunes that plague the human race. In the tragedy of Aeschylus, P. is a hero who dared to oppose himself to the autocrat Zeus because of his love for man. The greatness of this feat is emphasized by the fact that the seer P. knew about the coming punishment, about the torment destined for him, and therefore his choice was conscious. P. Aeschylus, remaining equal to the gods (“Look at everything that the gods have done to God!”), at the same time experiences everything that is inherent in man - both pain and fear. But he finds the courage to confront the servants of Zeus, Power and Strength. Aeschylus created the image of a titanic personality, for whom moral freedom is higher than physical suffering, and the happiness of humanity is higher than one’s own grief. P. does not repent of what he has done and does not give his enemies a reason for gloating: he even allows himself to moan only when no one is around. Thanks to all these qualities, P. has become a symbol of self-sacrifice for centuries, an example of a fighter for the good of people, for their right to think freely and live with dignity. “They still can’t kill me!” - exclaims P. at the end of the tragedy, having inherited the gift of prophecy from his mother. The phrase turned out to be truly prophetic: the noble image of the god-fighting hero was immortalized not only in literature (Calderoy, Voltaire, Shelley, Byron, Goethe, Kafka, A. Gide, etc.), but also in music (Liszt, Beethoven, Scriabin), in fine arts, starting with Greek vase painting and Pompeian frescoes and then in the paintings of Rubens, Titian, Carracci, Piero di Cosimo and others. The ethical philosophy of Aeschylus, coupled with his rich poetics, allowed the great tragedian to create a convincing image of a martyr in the name of an idea who suffered execution several thousand years. At the same time, Aeschylus was more high level developed the myth about P., the creator of people: in “Prometheus Bound” the hero, through the sciences he gave him (construction, writing, counting, shipping, healing, etc.) improves not only the bodies, but also the souls of people. As Byron put it, P.'s only crime was that he wanted to “ease the suffering of people.” P. not only challenged Zeus, but also proved to Olympus that his name is rightly translated into all languages not only as “seer,” but also as “trustee.”
Lit.: Kerenyi K. Prometheus.Z., 1946; Sechan L. Le mythe de Promethee. P., 1951; Yarkho V. Aeschylus. M., 1958; Trousson R. Le theme de Promethee dans la lit-terature europeenne. Gen., 1964; Lurie S.Ya. Bound Prometheus // Lurie S.Ya. Ancient society. M., 1967.
2) In Russian literature, the image of P. first appears in M.V. Lomonosov’s poetic “Letter on the Benefits of Glass” (1752). Here P. is shown as a titan of science who became a victim of human ignorance. P., according to Lomonosov, did not gift people with fire as such: he gave them a magnifying glass that concentrated the sun's rays and turned them into flame. However, “the ignorant, ferocious regiment misinterpreted noble inventions.” The image of P. often appears in Russian poetry of the 19th century. (Baratynsky, Kuchelbecker, Benediktov, Polonsky, Shevchenko, etc.), where he symbolizes the idea of freedom, personifies a feat that is as sublime as it is reckless. This image is also found in Soviet poetry, serving as a metaphor for socialist transformations and, in particular, electrification. Thus, the Belarusian poet Yakub Kolas interprets P.’s fire as “Ilyich’s light bulb,” and the Georgian writer R. Gvetadze directly identifies the ancient titan with Stalin, who “gave the peoples the flame of Prometheus.” The writer G.I. Serebryakova in the novel “Prometheus” describes the life of K. Marx. (Cf. A. Maurois’s work “Prometheus, or the Life of Balzac.”) All these metaphors and allegories are not related to literary hero as such. In fact, P. appears as a literary (dramatic) hero, objectified in the narrative (action), in Vyach. I. Ivanov’s tragedy “Prometheus” (first edition entitled “Sons of Prometheus” - 1914, second - 1919). In the tragedy of the symbolist poet, attention is drawn to the absence of the civilizing pathos characteristic of many developments of the myth of P., starting with Aeschylus, whose hero suffered unfairly and, according to Ivanov, paid for his excessive philanthropy. In Vyach. Ivanov himself, P. expresses the “negative self-determination of a titanic being”, destroying the unity of being. The tragedy uses the main plot circumstances of the myth: the theft of fire, which P. gives to the people he created. Unlike traditional interpretations, where fire was a symbol of consciousness, in Ivanov it expresses freedom. Having given fire to people, P. makes them free and expects to use their freedom in the war against olympian gods, so that later “to become one head over everything” - a plan that is quite consonant with the intentions of Tantalus from Ivanov’s tragedy (1904). For the poet and thinker, the author of “The Hellenic Religion of the Suffering God”, with all his consciousness immersed in ancient culture, the modernized Prometheans of the new time were alien. This made it possible, despite the plot liberties, to give, according to A.F. Losev, a “deeply ancient” reading of the myth - by no means indifferent to the spiritual collisions of modernity, but devoid of allegorism and metaphor, through which “ silver Age"resurrected Hellenism. Therefore, for Ivanov, some aspects of the myth were significant, which seemed too philological to other authors. P. is a titan, a chthonic deity, for whom “the Olympic thrones are fragile and new; // Ancient chaos in a holy dungeon.” In this context, P.'s revolt against Zeus takes on ontological significance. However, the “negative self-determination” of titanism is expressed in that it involves all things in discord and war, and ultimately destroys its own carriers. P.'s fire, which gave people freedom, turns out to be a “seed of discord.” The young man Arhat kills his brother Archemorus, jealous that P. appointed him as a fire-bearer. The blood shed by the “firstborn of destructive freedom” begins a series of deaths, and soon “a war breaks out with everyone: the earth with the gods, and the gods with people.” P. is convinced: “Everything is for the good!”, for “I do not need peace, but the seed of discord.” However, the discord also affects him: people take up arms against P., go over to the side of Zeus, are ready to swear allegiance to the insidious Pandora, and at the end of the tragedy they “remain silent” (a reminiscence of Pushkin’s famous remark from “Boris Godunov”), when the demons Krotos and Biya take P. into custody . The ending of the tragedy, it would seem, repeats the denouement of Tantalus: Zeus crushed the rebel and approximately punished him. However, if Tantalus's rebellion remained without consequences, then P.'s “social experiment” achieved its goal. The earth is populated by the sons of P., filled with “greed for action but powerlessness for creativity” (Ivanov’s commentary). Due to this greed of “Prometheism,” they kill each other, and therefore choose a mortal fate for themselves.
Lit.: Losev A.F. The world image of Prometheus // Losev A.F. The problem of symbol and realistic art. M., 1976; Stakhorsky S.V. Vyacheslav Ivanov and Russian theatrical culture beginning of XX"Sw. M., 1991.