In 472 Aischylos produced the satyr play PromhyeÊ! PurkaeÊ! along with
Phineus, the extant
Persians, and
Glaukos Potnieus. Although we only have the title and three fragments, we can safely say that Prometheus was a character in the play. Firstly, his name appears in the title. Secondly, Prometheus probably spoke the words of one of the fragments from the play. All the fragments have to do with fire and/or the handling of it,
[13] but in one (Nauck2 206) Prometheus says to a curious satyr holding an ignited faggot, §jeulaboË d¢ mØ !e pro!bãl˙ !tÒma/p°mfij: pikrå går koÈ diå zÒh! étmo€. In coordination with this fragment one can examine several vase paintings that began to appear between the years 430 and 410 which seem to depict scenes from a satyr play that looks much like Aischylos'. On these vases Prometheus holds a torch amidst satyrs who dance (or race as the Athenians did in the Prometheia?) carelessly with torches of their own.
[14] In some cases they seem to be about to burn themselves as the fragment above suggests. Prometheus remains calm in all cases, standing in nearly an admonitory fashion. These vases probably reflect "eine Wiederaufführung des äschyleischen Dramas oder eine Wiederholung des alten Themas durch einen anderen, späteren Dichter."
[15] Accordingly, a satyrically comical Prometheus
[16] would have been recently familiar to Aristophanes' audience through the burlesque of his myth in this satyr play.