Prometheus the Trickster

In recent lectures we have discussed polytheism vs. monotheism and how Ancient Greek Religion fits into this. Ancient Greek Religion is polytheistic; there are many different gods and goddesses, compared to monotheistic religions such as Christianity, where there is only one God. Other ways of interpreting polytheism include having multiple names for one deity, for example, Athena Parthenos, Promachos, Ergane, Polias, Poliouchos etc. In Prometheus’ case he has many different ‘nicknames’, a word that could be used to describe the nature in which references to him derive, they include ‘trickster’, ‘protector of mankind’, ‘rebel’, ‘culture hero’, ‘bringer of fire’ and ‘thief’. These could be considered more like terms than epithets, as they range from being both positive and negative descriptions. I think these are terms that have been attributed to Prometheus over time in order for us to understand his nature, rather than as being viewed as epithets attributed to an ancient deity.

The theme that I am most interested in discussing is Prometheus as a ‘trickster’. When contemplating the word ‘trickster’, I immediately thought of foxes, specifically from Japanese folklore. Japanese foxes or Kitsune are considered to be trickster foxes renowned for their mischievous metamorphic abilities. Haga concludes in his articles about Kitsune is that the main qualities attributed to this animal and it’s symbolic representations are the same in the East and the West, ‘Just as in English the fox is used as a symbol of craft in foxy, ‘fox-like, and foxiness’ etc., and so the Japanese have Kôgi (こうぎ), suspicion, literally, to suspect like a fox’ [P224].

                           Some interesting facts that link the myths of Prometheus and Kitsune together are that Kitsune love playing tricks; they like to take things and hide them from people. This is similar to when Prometheus stole fire and hid it in a fennel stalk so that Zeus would not notice. Another similarity is that Kitsune balls, or star balls, which are small white-gold spheres and are a Kitsune's most prized possession, as it is similar to their life force in a ball. If a person manages to find a Kitsune's star ball, they would have the ability to control the Kitsune and make it do their bidding. However, Kitsune hate being stripped of their freedom, and when the Kitsune gets its star ball back, there will be serious consequences for that person. The idea of the Kitsune having its star ball taken is comparable to Prometheus being chained to the rock, as they have both lost their freedom. This is an interesting comparison because it compares mythical figures from two different cultures but their features and attributes are very similar.

                           The Journal of American Folklore notes that Aesop’s fable about the fox deceiving the lion has its own counterpart in a Japanese tale, about a fox that made use of a tiger in a similar way [P224]. I feel that these cultural representations of foxes are very similar to how Prometheus is represented in ancient Greek religion and myth. Grottanelli states that ‘the mythical trickster ‘type’ was ‘discovered’ by 19th-century ethnographers in the native cultures of North America, and then artificially ‘found in the mythologies of other ancient and modern societies’ [P117]. Grottanelli believes that these different figures of various mythologies have been thrown together to form a hybrid, which also blurs the understanding of each separate mythology within its specific cultural context [P117], a notion which I believe can clearly be seen in the context of the Japanese Kitsune and the Greek Prometheus.
                           Another fox figure I thought of when imagining a ‘trickster’ is Disney’s Robin Hood. Throughout the film Robin Hood continuously disguises himself in order to trick his enemies. He disguises himself as a fortune teller in order to steal from Prince John, a beggar in order to fool the sheriff to get information, and as a stalk he is able to take part in the archery tournament without being recognised. Prometheus is like this in the way he gives Zeus the flesh innards rich with the fat of an Ox in an offering at Mecone;

For when the gods and mortal men had a dispute at Mecone, even then Prometheus was forward to cut up a great ox and set portions before them, trying to deceive the mind of Zeus. Before the rest he set flesh and inner parts thick with fat upon the hide, covering them with an ox paunch; [540] but for Zeus he put the white bones dressed up with cunning art and covered with shining fat. Then the father of men and of gods said to him: “Son of Iapetus, most glorious of all lords, good sir, how unfairly you have divided the portions!” [Hes. Th. 535-41]

Both Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days talk about Prometheus, and together they present Prometheus as a trickster figure. Hesiod introduces Prometheus in the Theogony as ‘one who dared to match wits with almighty Zeus but ultimately failed’ [Hes. Th. 535-585]. Dougherty notes that Hesiod’s Prometheus, ‘his association with cleverness, trickery and deception, has much in common with the trickster figure that appears in the mythological and folklore traditions of nearly every traditional society – sometimes as a god, sometimes as an animal’ [Dougherty (2006): 33]. Dougherty’s description of a Prometheus in many other cultures relates to the previous association with Japanese Kitsune, both trickster figures and deceivers in their own right. They are also described as ambiguous and anomalous, and even have the ability to shape-shift (Kitsune are also known to take the forms of children and young women to deceive people). Trickster figures usually associate with theft and deception rather than using force or violence. Brown has pointed out that the Greek verb meaning ‘to steal’ (kleptein) really means to remove secretly, and Hesiod’s Prometheus embodies this translation when he steals fire from the gods and hides it in a fennel stalk [Dougherty (2006): 34].

However trickster figures are also portrayed as those who are responsible for disorder and chaos, and are sometimes represented as being dull-witted. This is shown after all Prometheus’ efforts and cleverness; he does not help mankind through his deceptions of Zeus. Not only is Prometheus punished for the theft of fire, but he is also responsible for the suffering of humans and for separating mankind from the ease of the divine world. In this way, Prometheus’ story, in Dougherty’s words; ‘establishes the human world ‘as it is’ – not as it should be’ [Dougherty (2006): 34]. Tricksters usually appear as transformational figures, in which they personify the human struggle to make the world more human. Their tales confirm the meaning of social order through the recognition of that which avoids order. Dougherty expresses that the best way to appreciate the nature of the trickster is to keep them within their own cultural context and by doing this we can discover a lot more about that culture. In terms of ancient Greek culture and Prometheus, his actions both threaten and reaffirm the rules and conventions that constitute archaic Greek culture, particularly the boundaries between humans and gods. Finally, it represents the deception, trickery and the ambiguous nature of the human condition as the Greeks conceived it.

 

Works cited:

Dougherty, C. (2006), Prometheus, ‘Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World’, Routledge

Hesiod’s Theogony

Hesiod’s Works and Days

Information about the Trickster Tale

Information on Kitsune

The Journal of American Folklore, ‘Fox Possession in Japan’, American Folklore Society, Vol.13, No.50, Pp.222-5 (Available on JSTOR)

Grottanelli, C. (1983), ‘Tricksters, Scape-Goats, Champions, Saviours’, History of Religions, The University of Chicago Press, Vol.23, No.2, Pp117-139 (Available on JSTOR)

Pictures:

Kitsune woman

Robin Hood 1

Robin Hood 2