Gods, Myths and Heroes - Part 35

Prometheus

In Greek mythology, Prometheus was a Titan who was punished for helping mankind.  There are several variations of the myth.  In one version, Prometheus created man out of clay.  Above, Prometheus Moulding Man Out of Clay by Constantin Hansen, 1845.

This is part of a painting Prometheus and Epimetheus before Pandora by Hermann Julius Schlosser, 1878.  In another version of the myth, Prometheus (at right) and his younger brother Epimetheus are given the task by the gods of assigning protective qualities to all the newly created creatures of the world.  Epimetheus gives horns, fur, etc. to all the different animals, but there is nothing left over to give to Man, who is naked and helpless.  So, Prometheus steals fire from the gods and gives it to Man.

By the way, Epimetheus is supposed to have married Pandora, of "Pandora's Box" fame, but that's another myth.

In all versions of the myth, Prometheus steals fire from the gods and gives it to man. Above, Prometheus bringt den Menschen das Feuer by Hugo Vogel, 1910.

In another version of the myth, Prometheus also gives man other arts of civilization, such as writing, mathematics, agriculture and medicine.  Above, Prometheus by Nazi sculptor Arno Breker, 1934.

Prometheus Stealing Fire by Andre Durand, 2010, shows him descending from far above the Earth bearing fire, with a satellite view of Greece below him.

In all versions of the myth, Zeus was angered by Prometheus stealing fire from the gods.  He punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock, where every day an eagle (emblem of Zeus) would tear at Prometheus' liver, and every night it would heal so he could be tortured again the next day.  Above is particularly gory depiction of this, called The Torture of Prometheus by Salvatore Rosa, 1646-1648.

Most artists went for a less gory view, such as Prometheus by Kristian Zahrtmann, 1906, above.

In Prometheus Bound by Martijn Caspar Swart, 2022, above, Prometheus is more well-endowed than the other paintings.

Artist Richard Taddei, whom we have previously seen, painted Prometheus in his characteristic stained-glass style, 1994.

Flickr contributor A Z Naturist went for a more abstract representation with his photo Prometheus and the Eagle's Shadow, 2010. We have to imagine him chained to a rock.

In the final part of the Prometheus myth, known as Prometheus Unbound, the hero Heracles (Hercules) releases Prometheus, as seen above in a Roman bas-relief sculpture dating from 41-60 AD, now in a museum in Aphrodisias, Turkey.