Prometheus Bound

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The Similarity in Prometheus Bound and Plato’s Apology on ‘Shame’

According to the Oxford University Press, shame is defined as, “a feeling of humiliation or distress caused by awareness of wrong or foolish behavior,” or, “a regrettable or unfortunate thing.” In Prometheus bound, shame was defined by any action that would cause a god to act like a human ( lesser of a god). In Plato’s Apology, shame was defined by an action that one was willing to beg for forgiveness for so that the judges’ punishment would be less harsh. Prometheus and Socrates would both agree that the true meaning of shame is defined by an action that one is willing to admit to wrongdoings and have guilt because of it. Prometheus and Socrates both believed that regardless of the consequences they had to pay, they should not be shameful for their actions because they truly believed in what they did and that it was not “a regrettable or unfortunate thing”.

In Prometheus Bound, although Prometheus was sentenced to being bound in chains for eternity, he continued to believe that his actions were justified, and he did not regret it even though he knew he would suffer. When the story first began, Prometheus was being dragged a location where he was forced to spend eternity, “ironbound”. (PB, p. 33, ln.123) Prometheus was punished by the ultimate god, Zeus, for giving humanity the gift of not being able to foresee their own deaths and, “gave them fire.” (PB, p. 41, ln. 374) Between gods and humans, a rocky relationship existed. Mainly, the gods look down on humans as being worthless. In contrast, the effect of Zeus’ punishment caused Prometheus suffering and shame–two elements that the gods condemned the humans for. In the eyes of the gods, suffering was a sign of humanity and therefore created the most shame for Prometheus because he was no longer acting like a god. Later in the story, the Chorus visited Prometheus to ...