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Audiobook edition · 3 h 13 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A god is chained to a cliff. A city braces for siege. What does it cost to stand firm?
In Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, the Titan who gives fire and skills to humankind faces the wrath of Zeus. Chained at the edge of the world, Prometheus refuses to yield. The Oceanids gather in pity, while the arrival of the wandering Io brings another face of divine cruelty into view.
The Seven Against Thebes moves behind the walls of a frightened city. King Eteocles prepares its defense as his exiled brother Polynices leads an army against it. The Scout reports the enemy’s champions, and the Theban women cry out in fear. Duty to the city presses against the burden of a family curse.
What you’ll discover
- A rebel on the rock Meet Prometheus as he holds to his choice despite punishment from the ruler of the gods.
- A city under threat Stand with Eteocles as he weighs the dangers gathering at the gates of Thebes.
- Voices raised in fear Hear choruses question, comfort, and pray as powers beyond their reach close in.
- Io’s restless suffering Follow a wandering woman whose torment gives the struggle with divine power a personal cost.
- The shape of tragedy Discover how a single situation and a few voices carry questions of justice, loyalty, and fate.
Who will love it
You will enjoy these plays if you love myths of rebels and kings, stories of sieges and curses, or speeches made for the stage.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Strength and Force chain a god to a cliff
- Prometheus tells the nymphs why Zeus punishes him
- Every art among mortals comes from Prometheus
- Io and Mercury test the prisoner's resolve
- A king at dawn and a chorus of frightened women
- Seven gates, seven shields, seven champions
- A family curse closes in on the brothers
- How the plays are built and why they last
Who’s who
- PrometheusA Titan chained to a cliff for giving fire and the arts to mortals, who will not tell Zeus the secret that could save him.
- ZeusThe new ruler of the gods, who punishes Prometheus and wants to learn the marriage that could bring him down.
- IoA maiden turned into a wanderer with horns, hounded by a gadfly sent by Juno, who begs to know when her suffering will end.
- MercuryThe messenger of Zeus, who comes to force a secret from Prometheus with threats of thunder and an eagle.
- EteoclesThe king of Thebes, who guards the seven gates of his city and stands under the curse of his father Oedipus.
- PolynicesEteocles' exiled brother, who leads an Argive army against Thebes and claims Justice is on his side.
- AntigoneThe sister of Eteocles and Polynices, who mourns her brothers and holds firm to her own sense of duty.
- AmphiarausA righteous seer among the attackers, who scolds his allies and knows he will die in the war.
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Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes
by Aeschylus
A god nailed to a cliff for giving fire to humans, and two brothers who face each other at a city gate.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if you had to chain a friend to a rock at the edge of the world, and the order came from the most powerful being alive? That is the opening of Prometheus Bound, the first of two plays in this volume.
Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 45 min1 h 25 min fast, 2 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 25,300 words7 chapters
- Pages
- 79 pages119 in large print
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Strength and Force chain a god to a cliff
The first play opens on a bare plain at the edge of the world. Strength and Force, two servants of Zeus, bring a prisoner there. With them comes Vulcan, the god of the forge. The prisoner is Prometheus, a Titan, and his crime is that he stole fire and gave it to mortals.
Vulcan does not want the task. He calls Prometheus a kinsman and says it is dreadful to fasten a fellow god to a ravine. Strength has no such doubts. He tells Vulcan to strike harder and leave no slack.
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Cite this edition
Aeschylus. Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/aeschylus-prometheus-bound-and-the-seven-against-thebes.
Aeschylus. (2026). Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aeschylus-prometheus-bound-and-the-seven-against-thebes
Aeschylus. Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aeschylus-prometheus-bound-and-the-seven-against-thebes.
@book{aeschylus2026aeschylus,
author = {Aeschylus},
title = {Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and The Seven Against Thebes},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/aeschylus-prometheus-bound-and-the-seven-against-thebes}
}
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What is Prometheus Bound about?
It tells of the Titan Prometheus, chained to a rock by order of Zeus for stealing fire and giving it and the arts to mortals. He talks with sea nymphs, Ocean, Io and Mercury, and will not give in.
What is The Seven Against Thebes about?
It is set during an attack on Thebes by seven Argive chieftains, each at one gate. King Eteocles names a defender for each, and the seventh gate is held by his brother Polynices, under a family curse.
Who is Io in Prometheus Bound?
Io is a young woman loved by Zeus and hated by Juno, who sends a gadfly to drive her across the world. Prometheus tells her the road ahead and the line of descendants that will lead to his release.
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