Page:Masterpieces of Greek Literature (1902).djvu/115



was born at Athens, 525 B. C. He had part in the battle of Marathon, 490 B. C. as he tells us on his tombstone, and doubtless also in the battle of Salamis, 480 B. C. He is called the Father of Greek Tragedy, since before him only one actor was employed, who, wearing various masks, held converse with the leader of the chorus. No true dramatic action was possible until the second actor was introduced. Of the ninety plays of Aeschylus, only seven have come down to us; of these the most magnificent and the most difficult to understand is the Agamemnon, which Robert Browning translated. Aeschylus died at Gela in Sicily in 456 B. C.

The story on which the Prometheus Bound is based is told in the play itself. The audience had no play-bills or information other than that which the drama supplied. Prometheus belonged to the older race of gods,—he was a Titan,—but he took the part of Zeus (Jupiter) in the latter's contest with his father Cronos (Saturn), and assisted in establishing the new dynasty. By aiding men, however, especially in conveying to them the gift of fire, which should prove for them the mother of every art, he incurred the enmity of Zeus, and is to be severely punished.

The scene of the play is laid in Scythia, near the waters of Ocean.

The Dramatis Personae are skilfully chosen: Strength and Force, as the roughest of Zeus's servants, bring Prometheus to the scene of his sufferings. Hephaestus (Vulcan), the god of fire and the patron of all work in metals, the Tubal Cain of the Greeks, binds the Titan to the rocks. The Ocean Nymphs hear the sound of the hammer on the