Prometheus Bound
Prometheus' final lines are powerful today, and I think that they would be even more powerful to an ancient Greek audience because of how blatantly he defies Zeus. When he says "So! In truth, not just in threats, the earth begins to quake," he comes across to me as meaning, "Zeus actually decided to go through with this. Let's get it started." He does not flinch at the onset of lifetimes of torture. He is kind of like a Greek Nathan Hale; he doesn't regret what he did and he would take his punishment over and over again, if it meant he got to fight for what he believed in. This tragedy portrays him as the perfect rebel. He is a victim of an unjust tyrannical vendetta and a martyr for liberty.
The build-up and placement of the final word of the play, "injustice," would have an important impact on ancient Greek viewers as well. He describes what evils will come upon him as a result of Zeus' hatred, in building up to the last word. He says that everyone across the whole Earth can see that what is happening to him is wrong. Prometheus uses his last moment in the spotlight to level an intense accusation against the supreme ruler of the universe- Zeus is a god of injustice. I think that this could have been a primer for questioning loyalties to a ruthless deity.