A peak in the Caucasus Mountains. Force and Violence have conveyed Prometheus to the mountain, where Hephestus, the god of fire, binds Prometheus to the mountain, expressing pity and reluctance. Force, the pragmatic agent of Zeus, urges Hephestus on, condemning his sympathy for the rebellious Titan as useless and threatening reprisals from Zeus. Force declares that suffering will make Prometheus accept Zeus's authority, and Hephestus states that in time, Zeus's tyranny may moderate. Throughout their exchange, Violence says nothing.

Force, Violence, and Hephestus exit. Prometheus speaks a soliloquy which begs sympathy from his mother Earth, condemns Zeus' s tyranny, and identifies the cause of his predicament, that he "loved man too well." Prometheus indicates that he realized the consequences of his actions before he intervened to save humanity, saying "All, all I knew before, all that should be." This shows Prometheus's foresight, which is the meaning...