Prometheus Bound Power Quotes

Here, Prometheus appears to be making a powerful argument about the relationship between power and justice. But he says it in a pretty sneaky way, so we have to read between the lines a bit. Let's take the last part first. Io asks Prometheus what "wrongdoing" he did that he's now being punished for. Prometheus's reply translates basically as, "I've already answered your question by what I said before." Well, what did Prometheus say before? He said that he was chained up by the "decision of Zeus and the hand of Hephaestus." Putting these two pieces together, it looks like Prometheus is saying, "It doesn't matter what I did wrong. All you need to know is that Zeus wanted me chained up and Hephaestus did it." In other words, where Zeus is concerned, might makes right.

Something to look forward to: one day, Zeus will fall, and it'll be his own fault. The balance of power is always changing, and even the longest dynasty doesn't last forever. Just another reason to be nice to the little guy—one day, he might be your boss.

Here, the Chorus is praying that no god will ever take a liking to them in the same way that Zeus did to Io. Talk about power imbalance—there is literally no way that could end well. Hm, that message still kind of resonates today.