As social media and sound bites become ever more pervasive I began to wonder how to combat the mind numbing, attention span shortening, and time wasting distractions that are abundantly available. I grew tired of pundits telling me how to think and feel. I don’t want presidential debates where the most substantive back and forth revolves around the strength of the candidates golf game. In short I want more substance and less fluff.
I began to wonder about classical literature. Was it mere chance that some stories have lasted for centuries or millennia? Are there lessons to be learned from ancient literature? Do the stories told 2,500 years ago still have relevance today? Against that backdrop I decided to read some works that have been around since antiquity. The first selection I made was Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus.
Two weeks ago I could not have told you who Aeschylus was. Now I know he has been labeled as the father of tragedy based on his writings. He has been credited with writing at least 70 plays, but only a handful of them survive today. I wonder if these surviving plays are his seminal works. Why did they survive while others did not? Perhaps it was just random chance or perhaps there was something that set these plays apart. Prometheus Bound would be my first exposure to Aeschylus.
It is a fairly short read. There is a free version on the Project Gutenberg website. Since this is an ancient text the version you read might have a different translation than the version I read.
Prometheus Bound shows the danger of acting against a tyrant. Against Zeus’s wishes Prometheus gave man fire. Even though Prometheus had helped Zeus in the past to secure his throne Zeus had Prometheus punished. For a good deed Prometheus suffered unjustly. Overall I think there is a lesson to be learned from this play. It took longer to read than a work of fiction written today but I feel like there is value in reading it.
“What about Roxane?” Alexander asked.
“Your prisoner bride?”
“Such disrespect is worthy of death!”
“There is no possible way that you could love her or that she could truly love you.”
“What gives you the insight to speak so assertively about matters you know nothing about?”
“Daughter of Oxyarthes, the man who surrendered the Iron Gates to you, makes for a very political marriage.”
“Continue,” said Alexander.
“At a feast celebrating your latest victory a number of young women were brought in for entertainment. You spotted one of them whose beauty far surpassed the others and you decided on the spot to marry her once you learned she was the daughter of Oxyarthes. You needed to cement a strong relationship with the local leaders. What better way to do this than through marriage? You didn’t share a common language and never even spoke to each other beforehand. She never was given a choice. So she is your prisoner bride.”
“You have a vague outline of the past. I suppose it is remarkable that you have as much ...
