Hephaestus laments over Prometheus' future suffering, leading Kratos to ridicule him. Kratos coerces the mild-mannered blacksmith god Hephaestus into chaining Prometheus to the rocky crag, despite Hephaestus' objections to this. Bia, though present in the scene, does not have any lines only Kratos speaks. Kratos in particular represents what Ian Ruffell calls "the kind of uncomplicated thug for whom despotic regimes offer countless job opportunities." He enforces the power of Zeus through physical brutality and pitilessness. The presence of Kratos and Bia but absence of Nike and Zelos indicates the play's tyrannical portrayal of Zeus, since Kratos and Bia represent the more tyrannical aspects of authority. The order to do this was given by Zeus himself and Kratos and Bia are portrayed as the embodiment of Zeus' new regime. In the opening scene of the tragedy Prometheus Bound, which is traditionally attributed to Aeschylus, Kratos and his sister Bia are taking Prometheus to a remote location in the Scythian wilderness, where he will be chained to a rocky outcropping. ![]() In Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, Kratos (not shown in this painting) is the one who orders Hephaestus to chain Prometheus. Prometheus Being Chained by Vulcan (1623) by Dirck van Baburen. While the goddesses Dike ("Justice"), Eunomia ("Good Law"), and Eirene ("Peace") represent the benefits of Zeus' reign, Kratos and his siblings represent the work needed to build that regime. According to Diana Burton, Styx, Zelos, Nike, Kratos, and Bia's voluntary change in allegiance represents the certainty of Zeus' victory over the Titans. Because Styx came to Zeus first, along with her children, Zeus honored them as among the highest members of his new regime. Hesiod goes on to explain that the reason why the children of Styx were allowed to dwell with Zeus was because Zeus had decreed after the Titanomachy that all those who had not held offices under Kronos would be given positions in his regime. These have no house apart from Zeus, nor any dwelling nor path except that wherein God leads them, but they dwell always with Zeus the loud-thunderer." Here Kratos is merely listed as a deified abstraction with little development or explanation. Also she brought forth Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force), wonderful children. Hesiod states: "And Styx the daughter of Ocean was joined to Pallas and bore Zelus (Emulation) and trim-ankled Nike (Victory) in the house. Kratos and his siblings are first mentioned in the Theogony, which was composed by the Boeotian poet Hesiod in the late eighth or early seventh century BC. They also appear in late eighteenth and nineteenth-century Romantic depictions and adaptations of the binding of Prometheus.Īncient Greek literature and art Theogony Kratos and Bia appear in a late fifth-century BC red-figure Attic skyphos of the punishment of Ixion, possibly based on a scene from a lost tragedy by Euripides. In Aeschylus' Libation Bearers, Electra calls upon Kratos, Dike ("Justice"), and Zeus to aid her brother Orestes in avenging the murder of their father Agamemnon. ![]() He defends Zeus' oppressive rule and predicts that Prometheus will never escape his bonds. Kratos is characterized as brutal and merciless, repeatedly mocking both Hephaestus and Prometheus and advocating for the use of unnecessary violence. Kratos compels the mild-mannered blacksmith god Hephaestus to chain Prometheus to a rock as punishment for his theft of fire. ![]() Acting as agents of Zeus, they lead the captive Titan Prometheus on stage. Kratos and his sister Bia are best known for their appearance in the opening scene of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound. According to Hesiod, Kratos and his siblings dwell with Zeus because their mother Styx came to him first to request a position in his regime, so he honored her and her children with exalted positions. Kratos is first mentioned alongside his siblings in Hesiod's Theogony. Kratos and his siblings Nike ('Victory'), Bia ('Force'), and Zelus ('Glory') are all the personification of a specific trait. ![]() In Greek mythology, Kratos, also known as Cratus or Cratos, is the divine personification of strength.
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