《解放了的普罗米修斯》

We probably know the story of Prometheus

（普罗米修斯）

who steals fire for mankind. In

Greek mythology, Prometheus is a god with great strength and a friend of human beings. To improve

the lives of humans, he stole fire from Zeus

（宙斯）

and gave it to mankind. Zeus then punished

him by binding him to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to

be eaten again the next day. As time passes , Prometheus has become a figure of hope and inspiration

for literary works.

In 5th century BC, a great Greek playwright

（剧作家）

called Aeschylus

（埃斯库罗斯）

turned his attention to the story of Prometheus and came up with a great tragedy Prometheus Bound

（《被缚的普罗米修斯》）

. At the beginning of the play, Prometheus is brought to a mountain.

According to Aeschylus, Prometheus is being punished not only for stealing fire, but also for ruining

Zeus’s plan to destroy the human race

. Another god called Oceanus sympathizes with Prometheus and

urges him to make peace with Zeus but he refuses. Instead, he reveals stealing fire is just one thing

that he has done for mankind. As a matter of fact, he has taught men quite a few other things such as

writing, medicine and agriculture. At the end of the play, Zeus strikes Prometheus with a thunder and

sends him into unlimited darkness.

Over two thousand years later, Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound and the story of Prometheus

inspired Shelley a leading English Romantic poet who rewrote the story and gave birth to a poetic

drama Prometheus Unbound

（《解放了的普罗米修斯》）

. Though Shelley bases his work on the

original story, he altered some parts of it. In Shelley’s play, Prometheus is supported by Ear

th, his

mother and Asia, his lover. Suffering a lot, the hero remains firm and refuses to submit to the injustice

of Jupiter

（

or Zeus

）

, the heavenly tyrant

（暴君）

. Meanwhile, Prometheus’s lover Asia wanders

from place to place, trying to find someone to help her save her beloved. Later, she comes to the cave

of Demogorgon

（冥王）

, a god of the underworld and requests him to give her a hand.

Demogorgon agrees and drives Zeus from his throne. Finally, Prometheus is released and united with

Asia. The whole world c

elebrates the hero’s liberation and lives with love and freedom.