Another famous playwright is Aeschylus. Have you heard about the Titan Prometheus? Aeschylus wrote a trilogy about Prometheus: ‘Prometheus Fire-Holder,’ ‘Prometheus Bound,’ and ‘Prometheus Liberated.’
The first part of the trilogy shows how Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, making himself good to the humans, but at the same time committing hubris against the gods.
In the second part of the trilogy, as punishment, Prometheus was bound to a rock, and every morning an eagle came to eat his liver, which regenerated every night. Being a Titan, he couldn’t die, causing endless torture.
In the third part of the trilogy, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, felt pity for Prometheus and went to the place of his torture where he was bound, and told him, “Prometheus, your torture will be endless unless the son of a god and a woman will take your place at the torture and will go down to Hades on behalf of you to liberate you. Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman went to Hades on Prometheus’ behalf.
So, through the playwrights, the ancient people of Greece were prepared for the New Testament concept of a substitute, a substitute who suffers for another’s sins. T
his concept of substitution was introduced on the Athenian stage in 474 BC, preparing the ancient audience for the idea of substitutionary atonement.”
Everywhere in nature, in culture, you see His footprints, His presence.