Prometheus : The Myth Of Prometheus

In Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Zeus is portrayed as a brutal and vengeful tyrant. His tyranny is mostly shown through the punishment of Prometheus. Zeus saw Prometheus giving humans fire as betrayal and as revenge, punished Prometheus by pinning him to a rocky mountain in the Caucasus. Instead of carrying out the punishment himself, Zeus had Might, Violence, and Hephaestus (who was also Prometheus’ friend) carry it out instead. As stated in lines 13-18.

This relates to the alternative title “The Modern Prometheus,” because Prometheus was a Greek mythological figure that took fire from the gods to give it unto man and consequently suffered eternal punishment. The definite correlation linking Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein who also tried give animation to lifeless matter though he was unworthy. For these heinous acts they had committed that were acts only gods are worthy of and for this their lives were sentenced to alienation to live forever in despair.

What do you think is the logic of the inter-related narratives of Prometheus’ trick of the sacrificial offering, his theft of fire and Zeus’ creation of woman, as seen in Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days?

Hercules once said, “A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.” This was assuredly true about the Greek Hero. Although, they were partially characterized by their strength, it was also mandatory to have a good personality and nature, according to Aristotle. There were many characters that fit this description in Greek mythology, but out of all of them Perseus is the most superb. He was the son of Zeus and Danae and helped the Gods vanquish evil, most remarkable defeating Medusa.

Hercules, or known in Latin as Heracles, was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity. In art Hercules was portrayed as a powerful, muscular man wearing lion's skin and armed with a huge club. He was also described as being a macho man buffoon, who was very impulsive. Hercules’ home and birthing place is in Thebes, Greece. Thebes is a city in central Greece. It plays as an important setting in many Greek myths, such as the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and many other important roles in Greek Mythology. The demigod, Hercules has an interesting origin, he is most famous for his 12 labors, and leaves a legacy in words and expressions.

Perseus is one of the finest heroes of Greek mythology. He changed into the son of strong Zeus and mortal Danae. He's first-rate referred to as the slayer of the gorgon medusa, a fearsome monster, and as the rescuer of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda.

Legend has it that when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus took vengeance by creating the first woman, Pandora, and presenting her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother. With her, Pandora had a jar which she was not to open under any circumstance. Impelled by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the jar, and all evil contained- every kind of disease and sickness, hate and envy- escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the lid, but the whole contents of the jar had escaped, except for one thing which lay at the bottom, and that was Hope. When she opened the Jar again, Hope sprang free, and flew out into the world, a world that now held Envy, Crime, Hate, and Disease – and Hope.

Myths are beautiful stories written to explain the unexplainable, originating from the early people of the world to the present day still just as entranced by them. The Myth of Perseus is no exception. The myth has a plethora of morals and lessons, the greatest being that of destiny and courage.

Perseus fits the model of a Greek hero, as he was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal, Danae. King Acrisius, Danae’s father, was warned by the oracle of Apollo that the son of Danae would kill him, so he locked Danae in a tower, where Zeus eventually visited her in a shower of gold, which is how Perseus was conceived. This fits the criteria of unusual conception of a Greek hero. Additionally, Perseus took up the seemingly impossible challenge set by Polydectes, to slay the only mortal Gorgon, Medusa. This was because Polydectes invited him and his mother to a fake wedding, and since they did not bring a gift, Polydectes demanded the head of Medusa. Although this challenge was a command, Perseus was not obliged to take it, as no other mortal

The ambiguity of the myth of Prometheus lies in its interpretation. The Greek myth surrounds the creation of man and the part Prometheus played in it. Prometheus (meaning forethought) and his brother, Epimetheus (meaning afterthought), were given certain tasks by Zeus after they fought on Zeus' side in the war with the Titans. As a reward for their loyalty, Zeus gave Epimetheus the responsibility of creating the animals and distributing their qualities, for example, strength, speed, and stamina. Prometheus, on the other hand, was given the task of creating man. Prometheus molded man out of clay, giving them the ability to walk upright so that they could be closer to the heavens and the Gods. Since Epimetheus was extremely rash in his dispersion of the traits and qualities to the animals, when it came time for Prometheus to give some to man, there were none left. So, Prometheus gave man fire, and taught him how to grow food, and how to make objects, such as tools.

In contemplation of the special dignity of being created in the image of God and despite the challenges presented by mankind’s fallen nature, it is still necessary to adhere to the basic principles that apply to visual representations like paintings and sculpture, which as stated in the Sporre text are repetition, balance, unity and focal areas. (Sporre, Dennis J. Reality through the Arts. pgs. 57-58.). As stated in the Barry Wilson video, we have five reasons why we as believers should engage in art that should always be represented especially in light of the challenges of the fallen nature of mankind. In the Greek and Hellenistic periods the sculptures represented all of their gods in human form. While today these sculpture could be viewed today

Dionysus is the olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness, and wild frenzy. Most know him only by the god of wine because he created wine. His father was Zeus and his mother was princess Semele of Thebes. Dionysus was the only god with a mortal parent (mother was not a god). Zeus fell in love with Semele and visited her often. Zeus’s wife, Hera, found out about this and convinced Semele to ask Zeus to show her his true form. Zeus had no choice but to show Semele when she asked, and his true form burnt her to a crisp. Dionysus was still a fetus when this occurred so Zeus sewed him into his thigh to finish out the pregnancy term. Once Dionysus was born, Zeus made him into a god. Hera quickly found out that Dionysus was still alive despite her previous efforts, and she arranged for the Titans to rip him into a

The story of Prometheus is a myth that shows the theme that all actions come with consequences.

I am going to tell you the story of Hercules and his 12 labors. This is a Greek myth about Greek gods. There is only one thing Zeus,the king of gods is afraid of…His queen Hera.

"For he stole and gave to mortals thy honor, the brilliancy of fire [that aids] all arts" (12).