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Pity In The World Of Prometheus Bound

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Recommended: The Greek’s view of tragedy

Prometheus Bound, even in the world of Greek tragedy, is marked by its concern with pity. Pity drives nearly every event of the plot. Prometheus is bound on account of his pity for man, Hephaestus wavers in his dreadful task out of his own pity for the titan, the Oceanids are present for scarcely any purpose but to pity Prometheus, Ocean is compelled to visit by his pity, and Io is told to stay and chat so that she might be soothed by the pity of her Oceanid aunts. The centrality of this emotion demands a simple question: what is the nature of pity in the world of Prometheus Bound? We shall discover, in seeking to answer this question, that there are three claims about the dangers and limits of pity lurking just below the surface of the tragedy.
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