Zeus tiranno e Prometeo maestro delle arti: sviluppi tragici e distorsioni parodiche dal Prometeo incatenato al Pluto di Aristofane

Abstract

The principal narrative strand of Prometheus Bound is concerned with tyranny and rebellion (six attestations of the noun τύραννος and seven of τυραννίς, among which the expression τὴν Διὸς τυραννίδα, ll. 10 and 357). In addition to the authoritarian representation of the divine order, the second intellectual challenge is the account of human civilization with the invention of arts. The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of these two themes in the theatrical production of the second half of the fifth century and the beginning of the fourth, especially in plays that show clear points of contacts with PV. Among these, there is Aristophanes’ Ploutos, a comedy in which the parodic texture involves much of the dramatic action, from the prologue, with the dialogue between Chremylus and Wealth, to the final procession, that accompanies the god to his seat of worship on the Acropolis.