Rebellion, Suffering, and Technology: Prometheus Bound and Greek Tragedy’s Formation of Self

Plagues, sexual taboo, war, ecstatic violence, and the cost of self-knowledge – join Thomas Arnold for the first in this series on Reading Greek Tragedy for a World on Fire, where we will probe the voices and technologies of Greek tragedy for our current moment.

The first salon will delve into questions of what Greek  tragedies were for. Why did Athenian society stage these dramas and judge them? We will discuss what associations, experiences, and questions we bring to this form of literature, and talk about its social role for those who wrote, acted, and watched them. Both as ritual and civic formation, tragedies gave voice to struggles that war, political speeches, and philosophers may not have articulated.

We will read excerpts of Prometheus Bound together and consider its portrayal of rebellion against a divine order – a gripping, gruesome look into technology, human ingenuity, and sacrifice.

Recommended Reading:

Read what you can. You can still attend if you haven’t!

Prometheus Bound text online

The Politics of Greek Tragedy. Greece and Rome Live (D. M. Carter)

An Introduction to Greek Tragedy (Frances B. Tichener)