The Greek Gods ES

In both Prometheus Bound and the beginning of Herakles, Zeus is a character that is recognized for his power but criticized and hated for his unjust practices. In Prometheus Bound, we saw Zeus chaining up Prometheus for helping out humans and a large theme of the play is tyranny, which is represented by Zeus. In Herakles, we see Amphitryon talking about Zeus in a similar way to Io, who was raped by Zeus; Amphitryon says "So Zeus, you slip into my bed, you take what you want, and you pay me back like this?" To think of how Amphitryon "pimped" out his wife, Alkmene, to Zeus, it is understandable the frustration that he would be feeling over how he is being repaid. It is interesting to think of Zeus as a character who lets his sexual appetite and escapades get in the way of being a just and good ruler. The Ancient Greek perception of the relationship between sex and power seems very interesting to explore, especially through the lens of Zeus.