Prometheus

FIGURE 1.1. Peter_Paul Rubens, Prometheus Bound, early seventeenth century. The Prometheus myth is an archetype of the dangers, as well as the temptations, of usurping divine creativity and knowledge. Philadelphia Museum of Art / Art Resource, New York

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I am Prometheus under the vulture’s beak,
Man, the discoverer of the undying Fire,
In the flame he kindled burning like a moth;
I am the seeker who can never find,
I am the fighter who can never win,
I am the runner who never touched his goal;
Hell tortures me with the edges of my thought,
Heaven tortures me with the splendour of my dreams. ||122.26||

~ "Savithri" ~ Sri Aurobindo

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Dinesh ^club

. . . Shaftesburry’s (Third Earl of Shaftesbury) claim was bolder than that of the Renaissance humanists, for if Prometheus was “just,” he had committed no crime; in stealing from the gods, he had taken what was rightfully his. The creative flame belonged to man, seizing it was a heroic act. Men of genius, like God the Father, now created for themselves. ~ Page 91

4 years ago. Edited 8 months ago.

Dinesh ^club

Eventually, after battling it out ith the Titans, Zeus and Hera came to rule over ten senior gods on Mount Olympus. There they consumed nectar and ambrosia and interfered in the affairs of mankind, not always to its benefit. It was Prometheus, a Titan not a god, who gave us fire. Zeus was so angry that he chained him to a rock, his liver to be daily pecked by an eagle. ~ Page 7

9 months ago. Edited 8 months ago.

Dinesh ^club

Prometheus performed some sleight of hand. Given the task of dividing meat into a portion for the gods and one for mortals, he hides the meat beneath the ox’s stomach and offers it to Zeus, and arranges the bones for men under the piece of glistering fat. Zeus complains that his portion looks the least appetizing and Prometheus explains that Zeus has first pick, so should choose whichever portion he prefers. The king of the gods made his choice and only afterwards sees that he has been deceived, mortals get the good stuff and the gods are stuck with a pile of bones. ~ Pag 11

9 months ago. Edited 8 months ago.

Dinesh ^club

In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Greek: Προμηθεύς, pronounced [promɛːtʰeús]) is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay and the theft of fire for human use, an act that enabled progress and civilization. He is known for his intelligence, and as a champion of humanity.

The punishment of Prometheus as a consequence of the theft is a major theme of his mythology, and is a popular subject of both ancient and modern art. Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, sentenced the Titan to eternal torment for his transgression. The immortal Prometheus was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle, the emblem of Zeus, was sent to feed on his liver, which would then grow back to be eaten again the next day. In some stories, Prometheus is freed at last by the hero Heracles (Hercules).

The Titan's greatest benefaction for humankind seems to have been saving them from complete destruction. In an apparent twist on the myth of the so-called Five Ages of Man found in Hesiod's Works and Days, Prometheus asserts that Zeus had wanted to obliterate the human race, but that he somehow stopped him.

Prometheus was the wisest Titan. His name means "forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. His younger was called Epimetheus (which means Afterthought). Epimetheus was always so busy thinking of yesterday, or last year, or a hundred years ago, that he never worried about what might come to pass in the future.

Prometheus did not want to live amongst the clouds on Mount Olympus. He was too busy for that. While the gods were spending their time in idleness, drinking nectar and eating ambrosia, he was planning how to make the world wiser and better than it had ever been before.

So instead of living on Olympus, Prometheus went out amongst men to live with them and help them. "If they only had fire," said Prometheus to himself, "they could at least warm themselves and cook their food; and after a while they could learn to make tools and build themselves houses. Without fire, they are worse off than the beasts."

Prometheus went boldly to Zeus and begged him to give fire to the people.

"I will not!" said Zeus, "Not one spark will I share with them! For if men had fire they might become strong and wise like us, and after a while they would drive us out of our kingdom. Besides, fire is a dangerous tool and they are too poor and ignorant to be trusted with it. It is better that we on Mount Olympus rule the world without threat so all can be happy."

Prometheus didn't answer, but he had set his heart on helping mankind, and he did not give up. As he was walking by the seashore he found a tall stalk of fennel. He broke it off and then saw that its hollow centre was filled with a dry soft substance which would burn slowly and stay alight for a long time. He carried the stalk with him as he began a long journey to the top of Mount Olympus.

"Mankind shall have fire, despite what Zeus has decided," he said to himself. And with that thought, he snuck quietly into Zeus's domain and stole a spark from Zeus's own lightning bolt. Prometheus touched the end of the long reed to the spark, and the dry substance within it caught on fire and burned slowly. Prometheus hurried back, carrying with him the precious spark.

Men and women gathered round the fire and were warm and happy, and thankful to Prometheus for the wonderful gift which he had brought to them.

Zeus when he came to know of this act of Prometheus was very angry and ordered that he be chained to the side of a mountain to suffer there for all eternity. And there Prometheus stayed, thinking of the future, happy in the knowledge that he had given fire to men until he was one day rescued by Hercules, the mortal son of Zeus. Source WWW

3 months ago.

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