Blog 4/20

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While reading Prometheus bound, I instantly noticed a parallel between Prometheus and Philoctetes. Both characters suffered some sort of punishment from a god: Philoctetes' wounded foot, and Prometheus who was bound to a rock as a punishment from Zeus. In another way these two characters are also similar by some sort of "power" they possess. Philoctetes had Heracle's bow which led to the victory of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Prometheus on the other hand had the gift of prophecy. Both characters came face to face with a god at the end and had strong traits of being stubborn. Yet, the two differ in the way that Philoctetes was easily persuaded by a god, on the other hand Prometheus stood for his beliefs and did not give in when Hermes demanded information for Zeus.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 20, 2018 at 7:15 PM

    I completely agree with your between Philoctetes and Prometheus. Both possess high levels of stubbornness which have put them into unpleasant situations. Even while clearly having opportunities to leave said situations, they stay. With Philoctetes it was because of his pride but for Prometheus he stayed bound to the rock because he did things that benefited humans even if it meant having to be punished for years.

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  2. UnknownApril 21, 2018 at 1:46 PM

    Also another similarity/difference I noticed is that it is hard for the audience to see the main characters (prometheus and philoctetes) as either the protagonist or antagonist in the plays story.

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  3. UnknownApril 22, 2018 at 7:04 PM

    All of the comments are right on the money. Prometheus’ actions benefited people, so I do believe he is a protagonist. Philoctetes on the other hand had gone through a whole lot of trauma in his past, so his ways of thinking are obviously a little different. You can’t blame the guy after all he’s been through. Then again, his actions of not aiding the others in battle could lead to defeat, so he is an antagonist at that, but it’s justifiable at the same time.

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  4. UnknownApril 22, 2018 at 7:46 PM

    I completely agree with the idea of stubbornness that Anike mentioned in the comments and how both Prometheus and Philoctetes possessed. The difference between them was surprising as I thought it'd be the complete opposite. Again, they both have different stories and mindsets as well as chose different paths.

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  5. UnknownApril 23, 2018 at 8:06 PM

    I agree with your point that Prometheus and Philoctetes are same characters when it comes to their punishment. However, I believe that they are different in some different ways also. Philoctetes wanted to be saved by someone and maybe deep inside he might regret what he did. In the other hand Prometheus is different because he doesn't want the help of others and he wants to go with his plan until the end, even if that plan brings him more punishment.

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