Cronos. It is possible that Prometheus seized the moment of the coup on Olympus to take fire to mankind, but the timing of his action is less important than his unrepentant reflection on having
hunted out the source of fire, and stole[n] it, packed
In pith of a dry fennel-stalk. And fire has proved
For men a teacher in every art, their grand resource
Oceanus, the father of the members of the Chorus, counsels Prometheus, in the spirit of family and friendship, to do the intelligent thing and acknowledge Zeus's power. When Prometheus declines Oceanus's offer to intercede with Zeus on his behalf and cautions Oceanus against doing anything to anger Zeus, it is plain that the characterization of Zeus as tyrannous and capricious is meant to be taken as accurate. This is reinforced by the anguish the Chorus express at the wrath of Zeus and the misgivings they express about Prometheus's love for mankind. But Prometheus insists his punishment is out of proportion, that, indeed, his gifts to mankind, not only fire but also reason and other survival coping skills, are not something to apologize for.
It is at this point that Io, the only mortal in the play, appears. She is a mortal in distress. Beloved by Zeus but at this point still virginal, Io has been condemned by Zeus's jealous wife Hera to wander the earth mercilessly pursued by an oppressively stinging gadfly. This is how she appears in the play, on the edge of madness, though sane enough to address Prometheus as the "universal benefactor of mankind" (PB 38). At her request, Prometheus (who is immortal, gifted with prophecy, and therefore in a position to know) explains the course of her future, which will be to settle in Egypt and there begin her dynasty. What Io and Prometheus share is direct experience of the gods' capriciousness, but Prometheus moves the along by predicting that Zeus will eventually be deposed by a son [Heracles/Hercules] stronger than he. When Io, in pro...