Der gefesselte Prometheus

A mighty temple is built in Athens in honour of Zeus, the most powerful of the Greek gods on Mount Olympus. At the same time – around 500 B.C. – the ancient tragic playwright Aeschylus wrote a drama questioning the cult that surrounded this same ruler. A critique of the powers that be based on the case of Prometheus, who was himself once part of the powerful race of gods, the Titans.

The conflict between these former allies when Prometheus gives the human more than blind faith, instead stealing fire from the gods and passing it on to the humans against Zeus’s will. As a result, the “mortals” gain knowledge and power and – with these – autonomy. The almighty Zeus is displeased with this act of empowerment: the terrible punishment he imposes on the suffering Prometheus turns into a struggle between the tyrant and his victim and a drama that arouses pity: Prometheus will be chained to a rock above an abyss in the Caucasus for eternity, unable to move and exposed to the burning sun and freezing nights. For his part, Prometheus, the pioneering thinker, demonstrates his own power through silence: he will keep his knowledge of Zeus’s future fate and the end of his dictatorship to himself until Zeus frees him. Even if this takes thousands of years. In the bound Prometheus the power of conviction, free will and the necessity of fate are united. Prometheus stands up for his love of humankind without any doubt, he will not let himself be fooled by any state powers or talked around by opportunists, he does not evade Zeus’s threats and puts up with his fate (almost) without complaint. What is it that motivates Prometheus? Director Anna Stiepani examines this question in her production of this multi-layered, disturbing and remarkably beautiful text.