Bia (Force) Character Analysis in Prometheus Bound

Zeus’s servant and the personification of Zeus’s violent will. Bia doesn’t speak during the play, and like Zeus’s violence, he offers no excuse or explanation. He is ordered to take an imprisoned Prometheus to the top of the Scythian mountains and ensure that he is tightly bound to the rock face. While Bia doesn’t participate in the dialogue of the play, his violence is a constant presence and threat. Bia also serves to illustrate Zeus’s ability to psychologically confine others. Bia is technically free, but he exists to carry out Zeus’s will and does not appear to possess a will of his own.

Bia (Force) Quotes in Prometheus Bound

The Prometheus Bound quotes below are all either spoken by Bia (Force) or refer to Bia (Force). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

We have arrived at the far limit of the world.
These are the Scythian mountains, desolate and vast.
Hephaistos, you must carry out the Father’s will
and bind the criminal to this steep looming rock
with chains of adamant, unbreakable.
It was your flower he stole, the bright and dancing fire,
and gave its wonderworking power to mortals.
This is the crime for which he now must pay
the price to all the gods, that he may learn
to love the tyranny of Zeus
and quit his friendship with the human race.

Related Characters: Kratos (Might) (speaker), Prometheus, Zeus, Hephaistos, Bia (Force)

Related Symbols: Fire, Chains

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis: